Business travel has slowed down a bit since the summer started and current plans have it staying that way through the end of the year. Needless to say, if you’ve been keeping up (which I haven’t considering this is my first post in over a month), this is a welcome change. I spent a week in July in scenic (and very dry) Salt Lake City. This past week was spent in Sacramento. My next business trip isn’t scheduled until the middle of October, when I’m planning to go back to Salt Lake City. There might be another trip before the end of the year, but that will be specifically for training purposes. Again, this is a welcome change and I’m hoping to use it to get my life (read: health) back in order.

Not a whole lot different about this trip since my last time in Sacramento back in January. We stayed at a Hampton Inn, which is right next door to the Fairfield Inn I stayed at in January. My co-worker was only a few nights away from getting Gold status (36 nights). Actually, I could be wrong, he may have received Diamond status (60 nights). Either way, it’s nice to get status with airlines and hotels, but it’s a bittersweet feeling as the extensive travel can take its toll.

As for the hotel, the only negative was the pool, which was down for maintenance. I actually brought my board shorts with me to take a dip after hours, but that was not to be. One thing I noticed during this stay, as opposed to my previous stay in Salt Lake City, was the air conditioner, which was not overwhelmingly loud and kept the room at a consistent temperature.

A Dodge Charger was the rental car of choice from National Car Rental. It was a fun choice, but somewhat underwhelming in the whole scheme of things. I’m used to having a lot of window space around the car with my Jeep, but the Charger had smallish windows providing for limited viewing to the left and right.

And, as always, the flight was with Southwest. Nothing new to report here as the flights to and from Sacramento were quite smooth. Business trips that are closer, usually within an hour or two, tend to take less of a toll overall, as I’m not forced to get up really early on a Monday or get back late on a Friday. I’m still enjoying A-List status, but I’m pretty sure that’s going to come to an end at the end of the year as I haven’t flown as much this year. Again, it’s a bittersweet feeling to get status and I’m not sure how much I’ll miss being an A-Lister. Chances are I’ll be somewhat bitter when I all of a sudden have to wait on security lines again.

“Wild” turkeys roaming around in the Sacramento suburbs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of comments regarding Sacramento that are worth mentioning. First off is the relatively new aiport, which is about a year old now. There’s a big red rabbit displayed in the main terminal. Maybe someone can explain the rational for having a rabbit in the terminal. I don’t feel like researching the reason at the moment. This also has me wondering, why not a big red turkey instead? It was common in the Denver and Indianapolis areas to have wild geese roaming the streets, but I was surprised by the wild turkeys crossing in Sacramento. I actually turned back to take pictures due it being a seemingly odd occurance.

Well, that’s it for today. As I noted earlier, my next business trip is scheduled for mid-October in Salt Lake City. Until then, I should have some personal news coming down the pipeline, probably within the next week. Stay tuned.