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Tag Archive for airports

A State of Waiting

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Renee Spindle

We all spend tons and tons of time waiting over the course of our busy days; the doctors’ office, waiting for medical test results, in line at any store, the bank (oh wait I cannot remember the last time I stepped foot IN the bank!), the gas station, etc. Waiting can be stressful, and sometimes make a person somewhat wary. I have a little bit different twist on the word waiting today that I wanted to share with you.

If you’re significant other is a Road Warrior (aka Travel Man) like mine do you feel like you’re always waiting? If you’re not familiar with the term Road Warrior this is my definition. A Road Warrior is a significant other that has a job that requires them to travel away from home on a regular basis. Your Road Warrior might be gone for a few days, or a few weeks. They must travel to wherever the job takes them on a moments notice. In our case my Road Warrior’s mode of travel is almost always an airplane. He likes to say he commutes in a tube.

So, when your significant other works away from the house almost every week it always seems like you’re waiting for one thing or another.

Waiting for the next time you will see them.

Waiting to hear how their day went. Sometimes waiting a long, long time for this one.

Waiting to talk to them if you have something important to say but it’s not an emergency (if things start to pile up I always have to make a list for myself). I have also been known to e-mail a list to my favorite Road Warrior if he is having a super busy week.

Waiting for the day they are coming home to arrive.

Waiting to go the airport to pick them up

Waiting at the airport for your favorite Road Warrior to get there.

Waiting to have a nice dinner together (spaghetti is the go-to, first night, home cooked meal at my house ) If we are going out to eat on the night that he gets home I have to choose the place. This is because the Road Warrior has been eating in restaurants all week, and he’s tired, tired, tired of choosing where to go.

Waiting can sometimes seem like an eternity. Waiting can test your patience, and put such a strain on your relationship, if you allow that to happen. When your Road Warrior calls you to say he has had a bad day or is missing you, be a good listener. Always be encouraging, and tell him you cannot wait to see him. Those are the things a Road Warrior needs to hear.

Waiting can be the pits, for both of us. Probably the worst form of waiting is when the Road Warrior is on his way home, and then there is some sort of travel delay. Ugh, those are times you need to have your patience in check. You are waiting, he’s waiting. You’re both waiting. Waiting, waiting, waiting. But then comes the best part of waiting, when the wait is over. That’s when I am relieved that my Road Warrior is home safe and sound. That’s when we are able to relax together, and just reconnect. There’s no more waiting until the next trip.

2 comments Posted in Travel Man

Flying Solo

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Renee Spindle

Yesterday was a fun day. Travel Man arranged for me to fly up to meet him in Oakland, California so we can spend some much needed time together this week. He’s a great guy.
You see normally when we are traveling together we’re most often taking a mini-vacation (I define this as 4 days or less). When we do travel together I really don’t think about much except packing my clothes and following him to the airport. Yesterday was a bit different though.

For this trip I will be with Travel Man for a few days while he is working in Northern California. So here’s how my morning went to get the travel day started. I drove myself to the airport, parked in long term parking, checked my bag curbside (always better to check a bag than carry on!), got through security fairly quickly without using the preferred frequent flyer lane (because I’m not with Travel Man), and got my iced tea and a magazine. Phew!! I know I can do this on my own, it’s just a good reminder for me when I do. We most often fly on Southwest Airlines for the great reward perks. If you are at all familiar with Southwest’s seating you know that there is no assigned seating, just assigned boarding designations. So, my Travel Man was not with me to get on the plane ahead of me and save us our seats together. I would be picking my own seat. This part of my trip is a new experience for me. I got a window seat of course as it’s always my favorite thing to look out the window when travelling. I was the kid on family vacations that never slept in the car. Always watching out the window and taking in the sights, and I’m still that way.

Travel Man was flying into Oakland from Buffalo, NY via Chicago. My flight was a short “up/down” (defined by me as less than two hours of fly time), Ontario to Oakland. I am pleased to report that there were no glitches in the travel matrix yesterday, and our meeting in Oakland was pulled off successfully. We were able to take the short drive to San Francisco and see both the Golden Gate Bridge and the Oakland Bay Bridge. It was a bit of a stressful drive through the city, but a beautiful day for taking in the sights.

I’m a lucky, lucky girl that I am able to travel to where my husband will be working for the week. His schedule’s a little crazy right now and any extra time we can glean together is a blessing. I keep reminding myself that it’s definitely a bit of a different lifestyle. My Travel Mans’ mode of commuting from city to city is an airplane (or as we jokingly say a “flying tube”). It’s a different kind of life, but it’s our life. It’s important for us to make the best of it, and our precious time together. That’s my life lesson for the day.

No comments Posted in Travel Man, Travels

Top Ten Reasons It’s Great to Travel with a Road Warrior

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Renee Spindle

As I told you all last week I had occasion to take a working road trip with my Travel Guy. It occurred to me on the way home that there are quite a few perks to having an experienced, seasoned traveller by your side.

10) He’s the ultimate suitcase packer. He knows how to fit EVERYTHING he (or should I say I) want to take into one suitcase. This is especially important for me because I ALWAYS like to travel with an extra outfit, just in case. I have gotten so much better at packing a suitcase over the years, but he remains the expert.

9) He always gets to the airport in plenty of time. He always leaves himself enough time so there’s no frantic rushing through the security check point or through the airport, ever.

8) He travels a lot. He accumulates tons and tons of reward points and perks for various airlines, hotels, and car rental venues. We are especially lucky in this regard. Nothing makes my Road Warrior happier than being able to share the reward points with a family member who needs to take a flight somewhere, or get a hotel room for a weekend trip.

7) All of the points he accumulates on a regular basis allow this gal to travel with him for mere pennies. I am one lucky, lucky gal.

6) Check-in at the airport is an event, possibly even close to a marathon. We always have bags to check, no dealing with carry-ons for these travelers. Since the Road Warrior is a frequent traveler we most often avoid the long line for baggage check-in, with the A-lister’s line (a Southwest Airlines perk). People definitely give us dirty looks for going to the head of the line. I just think to myself (a little selfishly), “That’s right people, I’m with this guy, and yep we got to go the head of the line”. And then I think to myself, if other people travelled as many air miles as my Road Warrior does they would want to go to the front of the A-list line too!

5) Getting through the security line is our second event of the day. We have by-passed the baggage check-in line, and if it’s available we take the by-pass line for the security line. Once again, exasperated stares from the “normal” passengers waiting in the “normal” line. The Road Warrior does a little personal cheer on the inside when he gets to do this. Oh, and just a side note from the Road Warrior’s wife. He carries a copy of the U.S. Constitution in his pocket. It’s his way of protecting his rights while travelling through the security check point.

4) He’s so familiar with most of the airports in the U.S., he can recommend places to eat, places to plug-in your electronics, the best bathrooms, and the most comfortable seats to park in while you are waiting.

3) He loves to people watch, and so do I. We’ll try to guess people’s back stories, or the reasons they are travelling through the airport. Sometimes, we just simply make up stories about the people we see. It’s a good way to pass the time.

2) He travels with all of the necessities; Kleenex, Tums, Clorox wipes, for those sometimes yucky airline trays (he stays healthy this way!), aspirin, free drink coupons, a good movie to watch, and magazines. The backpack he takes on the plane with him holds a ton of stuff (that’s a story for another day).

1) For me the most important reason that it is so great to travel with my Road Warrior is it means that we are together. We spend lots of time apart, so our time together is quite precious. I would not want to travel with anyone else.

This post linked to the GRAND Social

Our bags are packed and we’re ready to go.

8 comments Posted in Travel Man, Travels

A Day of Firsts for Me While I Travelled to Reno

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Renee Spindle

Last Saturday I finally got to go and visit my parents in Reno!! With the advent of my jury duty taking up most of my month, I was not able to plan a trip to Reno with my Travel Man like I wanted to. That is until last Friday.

Finally, last Friday all of the cards fell into place. My jury duty was completed at 4:30. Travel Man was in Northern CA, just finishing up his work. The stars were aligned, and the kismet was in place. We could squeeze in a little trip to Reno, so I could give my Mom and Dad a hug.

I quickly called Travel Man to let him know I was out of court, and lo and behold his work was done for the week too. Except for his drive home. He was already in Tracy, CA close to either Sacramento or Oakland. So, I suggested that he fly me up to Northern CA, and then we could drive from there to Reno, a lot less driving for you know who. Then Travel Man got all of the plans in place, including hotel stays. I packed my bags and Saturday morning off I went to the airport.

Me being the one going to the airport and flying off to meet up with Travel Man, that was a first for this trip. Upon my arrival at the airport I was greeted by the security line that required me to go through the body scanner. This was another first for me. In the travels that I had done, in the past few years, I had avoided the scanner, but not this time. I am no longer a body scanner virgin.

I arrived without any incidents at the Oakland airport. Once I got off of the plane, I made my way to the escalator that would take me to the baggage claim area. As I start to travel down the escalator, there off to the left is my Travel Guy, waiting for me! This is a total role reversal for us. I’m usually the one waiting at the bottom of the escalator. I wave to him, rather excitedly, and run over to give him a big hug as soon as I hit ground level!! It seems like we haven’t seen one another for weeks and it’s just been three days! Hopelessly in love.

We make the drive to Reno, check into our hotel, and I open my suitcase to get a clean shirt out. Lo and behold another first, TSA opened my suitcase to inspect it. They leave this cute little note in your suitcase, just to let you know they’ve been there.

Not sure what they saw that required inspection, my tennies, the curling iron?? Travel Man told me it’s completely random, and his suitcase gets inspected all of the time. Not sure I like this one though.

I have a few more stories to share over the next few days about our trip to Reno. Sometimes Travel Man and I have to do some crazy last-minute planning to have our mini trips together. But whatever we have to go through is completely worth it in order to have some time together. Being married to a road warrior can make for adventurous times, and I love every minute of it. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Did anyone else have a great travel weekend?

No comments Posted in Family, Travel Man, Travels

About My Valentine…

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Renee Spindle

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. Wishing all of you a day surrounded with love, caring, and chocolate of course!

My valentine and I had our Valentine’s Day dinner last Friday night after a day of touring The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. It was great to take a little mini-vacation, and get away for a day.

My wonderful husband (aka “Travel Man”, “Papa”, “Tom Dad”) had to leave on a business trip this morning. He’s on the road frequently trudging through airports, driving in unfamiliar cities, sleeping in hotels night after night, eating dinner out every night, and getting his work assignments completed so he can get back home. He works very hard and puts in long hours that give me the freedom to do what I want to be doing at home (aka “Domestic Goddess status”).

Travel Man and I will be celebrating our tenth anniversary this year in August. (Already! I can’t believe it!) He proposed to me in Las Vegas, and we also got married in Las Vegas at the Circus Circus chapel. A fun wedding and great memories.

I look forward to celebrating tons and tons of Valentine’s Days’ together with my hubby. He is my favorite comedian (he always makes me laugh), my Rock of Gibraltar, and the keeper of our castle. I hope each and every one of you has a valentine this special in your life.