Ohio Was Great, But There's No Place Like Home. .

[ShaneCarroll]

Well, after working in Ohio for the last 8 weeks, I am finally headed back home to Tampa. There were good and bad times in Ohio, and some that would qualify for SHT's, so to make a list of some of the most memorable experiences:

1. Learning about tornado sirens the hard way!! I live in Florida, and we don't have these things. It scared the bejesus out of me!!

2. Running out of gas somewhere in the middle of nothing but cornfields, and the first car I saw only took 30 minutes to get there!! Luckily, he had some gas handy in his truck.

3. I had a shotgun pulled on me for trying to find some old man's gas line going to his house. He thought I was gonna break in while I'm wearing a neon green shirt and a neon green vest.

4. Going to some bar in a town called Lima, only to witness two fights in 10 minutes over absolutely nothing.

5. Seeing .38 Special live in concert, FOR FREE BABY!!

6. Getting placed in two nice hotels over that span of time, something I couldn't afford on my own, but if the company wants to put up $100 a night, no complaints here. .

7. A couple nights where a few too many cervezas had me hugging the hotel toilet all night and the next morning. .:redface:

8. I will still never understand why Ohio-ans think that the left lane on the interstate is the "cruise at 50mph lane." They don't know how to drive up here.

Well, all in all, I enjoyed my brief visit to Ohio. Like they say though, there's no place like home. So after the three layovers at four different airports today, I should be back in Tampa at 6:20PM if the flights are on time. Ah yes, Tampa, the land of never ending traffic, 200% humidity, and plenty of crime to go around. But, this is my home, and I love it through thick and thin. Saturday morning, I plan on being on the boat on a desolate island, throwing back a few cold ones, and relaxing. Now I get to kick off a 10 day vacation. . Here's to the good life. . . Being able to go on the boat, and leaving that cursed work cell phone at home and turned off for a week. .

 

[JaSla74]

Re: Ohio Was Great, But There's No Place Like Home. .

You haven't lived until you've heard some tornado sirens. I hated those things. The ones in my old home town were from the cold war era & were just as frightening as a tornado.

I agree with the driving habits. People in Arkansas were constantly poking along in the left lane. Down here in Florida they're hauling arse, or at least get over. Maybe not everyone, but most seem to anyway.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Ohio Was Great, But There's No Place Like Home. .

You're right. Do a lot of business traveling myself and although it is great to visit many parts of the world there is no place like home !!!
I get home after eating constantly at restaurants and sleeping in hotels and usually Mrs Ken says "Now you are home why don't we go out for dinner" or "lets have a weekend getaway" when all you want to do at the time is relax at home. Many friends always say it must be great to do all that traveling and get paid for it.

Believe me it gets old very quickly. I know there are several other members out here that do a lot of business travel and I think they have the same opinion.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Ohio Was Great, But There's No Place Like Home. .

4. Going to some bar in a town called Lima, only to witness two fights in 10 minutes over absolutely nothing.

The one time I went to Lima (It's pronounced like the bean, not the city in Peru, BTW) I drank in that bar!

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Ohio Was Great, But There's No Place Like Home. .

I know what you mean. I spent 3 yrs. working all over Ontario, living out of hotels. Like it was said, "It gets old real fast." Those that haven't done it think it's great, and it is....for about 2 weeks. I'd get home late friday night and gone again Sunday afternoon for another 3 to 8 hour drive. I lost so much family time and not to mention the number of projects and chores that got delayed. It been a year since the last of the big trips, and I'm not even close to caught up.

 

[freelancer]

Re: Ohio Was Great, But There's No Place Like Home. .

Leisure travel -vs- working away from home are certainly two different things for me.
When I travel on vacation I try to take in all that is new to me: the food, people, culture, music, history, things like that. When I'm working away from home for an extended period of time, I tend to notice the smaller things, say like a local restaurant or bar.

One exception when working away from home is that I value relationships with people I interact with more than I would just some person I met while traveling. I have to admit there are some times that you wish you had a pair of those red shoes that Dorothy had... there's no place like home.

 

[rbh]

Re: Ohio Was Great, But There's No Place Like Home. .

working on the road for the last 27 years has taught me how much I appreciate my home, but on the other hand to much time at home has taught me why I work on the road!
damned if I do damned if I dont
rob

 

[Thad]

Re: Ohio Was Great, But There's No Place Like Home. .

Glad to hear you're getting home for a break. Enjoy it, I'll even drink one for/with ya up here in Illinois.

I travel only a couple times a year for business so for me it is a nice little getaway. I know there is no way I could ever do it on a regular basis.

And as far as traffic, well, until you have driven in Indianapolis, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

Hope the boat runs great for ya, and everyone else for that matter. Have a great weekend.

Thad

 

[dingbat]

Re: Ohio Was Great, But There's No Place Like Home. .

And as far as traffic, well, until you have driven in Indianapolis, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

Funny you should say that. I was out there 2 weeks ago and made a comment to my customer about the lack of traffic in the area.

You want to see traffic, come on down and take a lap around the Washington Beltway on a Friday afternoon.