Mid-Atlantic Blues

I posted some reviews last time I was flying across the Atlantic. I figure I have nothing better to do, so here are a few thoughts about travel.

Now don't get me wrong here. I really enjoy traveling in general. Seeing new places, and even [eek] meeting new people is really great.

I have done some great personal trips in my life. Driving around Nova Scotia with my now-wife. Motorcycling from Vancouver to Ottawa and back in two weeks. Visiting parts of Australia including a week-long motorcycle tour. Bancock, Thailand. Even Hong Kong, though I could barely stand the noise level. And my greatest trip, which was a year-long voyage, mostly by sailboat, from Vancouver down the coast to Mexico and eventually through French Polynesia to Tahiti.

And I've seen a lot of cool things and driven more rental car models than I can count on the numerous business trips I have made over the years. I've stayed in a few very nice hotels, and have definitely eaten a lot of great food.

But my pet peeve of the day is the huge number of comments I get from people about how great it must be to be traveling on business trips. Let me set the record straight.

For many of us who travel for work, it means:

- Being away from our families. My little one cries when I tell her I'm going away on yet another trip. My wife lives the life of a single parent while I'm gone, and is exhausted when I get home. And sometimes we miss important events because of travel. I doubt I'll get to see the Stanley Cup final this week, even though the home town team is playing [go Camucks!].

- Getting up at ungodly times to rush to some airport where we get treated like cattle on the way to slaughter. Oh and perhaps being exposed to unsafe amounts of radiation in the body scanners and in the air.

- Spending the vast majority of our time locked away inside a building or vehicle. For me it's normally many hours of meetings followed typically by a decent dinner and then hours of work to catch up with whatever happened in the office during the day and to prepare for whatever meeting is happening the next day.

And it's still surprisingly hard to find Internet access on the go without paying enormous sums for the privilege. So lots of waiting around. And it's often a stretch to get decent exercise on the go.

Sure, it really is awesome to travel to Northern California or Italy. I love the palm trees. The blue sky in CA. The mega-yachts on the Riviera. But I tend to see them only from a passing car, or after dark. On the other hand, it would be great to spend the weekend sailing with my family instead of touring airports and wearing out my butt in airplane seats.

So next time you think it sounds cool for someone to travel so much, perhaps you could inquire how they like it, rather than assuming it's great. Oh, and i dont travel nearly as much as many people I know. I'm not sure how they do it, frankly.

Sorry if this sounds like a rant. It's not. I'm inspired by constantly optimistic and grateful people in my life to look at the great things I have to be thankful for. An there are many.

And you're among them, so: thank you!