It has been SUCH a long time since I’ve written in my blog—but this is no worse than my personal journal writing ever was. I’m in the midst of an unusually long spell of business travel so I thought I’d write about my adventures so far.

Even though I love to travel and am always ready and willing to do so (I pride myself on being ready to go anywhere in the world in 30 minutes), this has been an unusual autumn for me. It has all been business travel related to our document management systems, delivering training.

It started Wednesday October 12 with a trip to Austin, TX to deliver training to the Unisys service desk staff. I LOVED Austin! The biggest things I learned: 1) Texas hill country is really beautiful, 2) houses are REALLY cheap (new tracts advertising from the mid $90s—Sheesh!), and 3) everything I’d ever learned in my life up until then about barbecue was a big fat lie. Thanks to the County Line, I’m spoiled for the rest of my days. It was also particularly fun to get a feel for where Will Barnett spent his freshman year at UT in the Uncle Sean series of novels by Ron Donaghe. I really enjoyed myself there, and the fact that I wasn’t there alone was nice for a change (Armando Arballo was there too, assisting in the training). Believe it or not, I could see myself living there…

I then came home for one day at the office and then off again on the longest part—a 3-city, 8-day “world tour”. Stop number one was Denver, CO, where I visited and taught at the Longmont facility. The classes were OK, but I found out too late that the training machines I was provided were missing some software I needed. I like Denver too, but it was already starting to be chilly in the evenings. One of my favorite places in Longmont is a new community called Prospect. Each of the homes and condos is uniquely designed and the place gives the image of an eclectic village. If only such a place could be built somewhere where the weather is better in the winters.

The other thing I always do is treat myself to a trip to the Denver REI flagship store. It’s absolutely amazing—sits right on the river where people ride by on the bikes on the river paths or kayak in front of the store. It’s truly incredible—but this time I actually got away without buying anything!

Stop number two was Providence, RI where I spent a day teaching at our West Greenwich, RI facility. We’d called ahead to get the required software installed, but ended up having to redo it anyway. Still, the classes went without a hitch. The facility there is for manufacturing, and since part of it is still under construction there were lots of workmen around and security was rather tight. Still, it was an interesting experience.

This was my first time ever to New England, and with autumn coming on, it was really beautiful. I got to spend all day Saturday driving around and seeing some sights. The one I chose was Mystic Seaport, CT which was really fun—though I’m sure it would be better with it not raining. It was pretty much as I’d imagined it and very interesting to see what a New England community looked like. Another highlight was getting to eat real New England clam chowder in a small inn that positively oozed charm. The final leg was a drive to see the modest little “cottages” of the turn-of-the-century patrician classes in Newport, RI. Unfortunately, I got there too late and wasn’t able to go on any tours—drat, maybe next time. It must’ve been nice being the likes of the Astors or Vanderbilts back then. Here’s a photo:

So I started this entry while waiting at the Providence airport to board the plane for my next destination: San Juan, Puerto Rico. I’m finishing it up on the first leg to Chicago, where I’ll hopefully be able to upload it for your viewing pleasure. I’m sure that Puerto Rico will deserve an entry (or two) all on its own…