From the Road

Greetings from the road again. Its been a busy holiday season. Travels began last Friday. I left early for Ohio and was greeted by 8 inches of blowing snow and drifts in the Maryland mountains. Travel was at a snails pace, but on a positive note I saved about 25% on gas mileage (guess that's not just an urban legend). Ohio included several fierce games of air hockey, a near death experience with my fathers driving, lots of food, 4 nights sleeping on the couch, and a partridge in a pair tree (at the Oglebay Festival of Lights). The trip back to DC was short lived. Long enough to shave my legs and repack for New York City. Five hours of sleep later I headed for the DC Metro. I metroed to Union Station, hailed a cab to the Greyhound station and was greeted by a line to New York that spanned round the building. I had an 8:30 ticket that I purchased two weeks ago, but that doesn't mean much following 30 inches of snow. It was first come first serve. One couple standing next to me ha...

Well if you're from the Northern VA area then it is no secret that winter is on its way. The first Alberta Clipper of the season is scheduled to bring snow on Sunday. In light of this festive news, I've made like a goose and headed South. It was a 3:30 a.m. start for me today. Packed my bags in the car and headed for the Bashway...excuse me... 495 Beltway. Even at 4:00 a.m. traffic and wrecks littered the road. A brief stop in nowhere to put my car in BWI's long-term parking and I headed for airport security. I must say I was a little disappointed that I didn't get a pat down. I'd been looking forward to that for weeks. Heck I didn't even have the excitement of a full body scan (too bad those new purchases from Victorias Secret go unused). After a short flight, with no bathroom mishaps, we landed nose up in Charlotte, NC. The airport was crowded and I meandered my way between people from concourse B to E. Along the way a few commonalities seemed to emerge. One o...

Heading south in Nova traffic on a Friday is certainly one of life's comedies and, I'm certain, a clear representation of what Hell must be like. On a positive note, somewhere South of Quantico, Va I discovered a Hardees that had ham and cheese sandwiches that resembled those of back woods, mountain, West Virginian ham sandwiches. You know, the type of sandwich with so much meat on it, that you can't get your mouth around it, but when you do bight into it the juice rolls down your chin and into your lap. Fortunate to have found such rashions because at this point I may never get to where I'm going. Hence the fact, I'm blogging in traffic. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The morning started early at 4:30 a.m.  Astonished that my luggage had expanded from two carry-ons to a 52 lb. suitcase and two carry-ons, I made my way to the door.  Luggage was loaded, goodbye kisses and hugs made, and off I went. Augusta Regional is a small two gate airport with no 5:00 a.m. coffee bar (BUMMER).  I boarded the plane and took my seat next to the window, hoping for some sleep.  I recently noticed that I can't seem to keep my mouth shut.  No, I don't mean talking, I mean when sleeping.  As I faded in and out of consciousness, I would catch myself with mouth wide open, head back.  The older man next to me must have been mortified (oh well). Our plane arived in Atlanta to an airport that, I am sure, was still sleeping.  After a 10 minute hold on the tar mac and a power failure we were finally set free.  I enetered into concourse D and searched for some kind of coffee or food.  There weren't too many places open.  I finally settled on Starbucks vanilla latt...

We began our final descent into Augusta National airport around 11:45 pm. There was a sharp bank to the left, another to the right, and then a nose dive. An alarm began to ring, "beep, beep, beep". Like something out of the movies that warns of impending doom. I was seated in seat 1A in the front of the plane. The flight attendant was seated in the jumpseat, and tightened his seat belt as he muttered, "uh oh, were coming in too fast". "What? Is that what that alarm is," I asked. "Oh yeah, it happens like every other time we fly in here," he said. The plane continued its rapid descent, whining and screaming like a bad dream. I Could have done without the flight attendants explanation, I thought to myself, as we continued down. Finally, a thud, and a safe landing. I exited the plane in a hurry. I was anxious to get away from the curry smelling passenger next to me, and the fear of the final landing. Sticky Augusta air greeted me as I climbed down ...

Waiting to board my plane in San Antonio, I stumble into the waiting area. Exhausted, and a bit queezy from all of the tex-mex food this week, I pile my bags around me and settle in for the wait. To my dismay I realize that a young businessman has made himself more than comfortable across from me. He's tall with dark hair and chunky gold jewelry that screams for attention. He's reading a book, reclined, feet outstretched and (gasp) ....bare. I cringe, again queezy from tex-mex. Let this be a lesson: 1. I could be your future client/ boss. Eh, hemm dress to impress does not include bare feet. 2. It may make the person setting across from you become inexplicably ill and result in something much more disgusting and smell than your bare zapatos. 3. Men - this is really not a way to impress the ladies. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

There is nothing like a big Texas welcome, and no better way to get it done than through a good ole fashioned Texas Rodeo. Our first night in town took us out to Knibbe Ranch. The ranch is a real working cattle ranch located in the Texas Hill Country and is more than 150 years old. Upon arriving we were greeted by Oreo the ranch long horn, which I took the liberty of riding across the lawn. It was a real experience complete with a 6 foot horn span and a borrowed cowgirl hat (hey I had to look somewhat Texan despite my bright pink shoes). Dinner was fantastic! Good ole BBQ brisket, green beans, and peach cobbler. Once our tummies were over full we rolled ourselves over the hill and into the valley for a real Texas rodeo. Cowboys and cowgirls from Texas and Mexico spent the next two hours showing off their roping and riding. There were several 8 second rides posted by the cowboys and a 14.6 second barrel ride posted by one of the cowgirls. The competition was fierce to the end, and sever...

Download now or watch on posterous IMG_0153.MOV (3913 KB) Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -----Original Message----- From: candace.riddle@gmail.com Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:57:36 To: Mat R Reply-To: candace.riddle@gmail.com Subject: Fw: Bull Ride Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -----Original Message----- From: J Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:06:58 To: candace.riddle@gmail.com Subject: Bull Ride

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

After a hold in Atlanta and some confusion as to whether or not we had all of the luggage on board (praying I still have clean underwear when I get there) we were off. I boarded the plane and took a seat in between two women. One was on her way to San Antonio for a National Workforce Association Conference, the other is headed to my conference. I always have wondered about the people I meet along the way, the business that gets done, and the stories that are told. My better half calls the people you meet "single serving friends", because you usually only know them long enough to share your life's story before going in separate directions. I guess it is kind of like a free single therapy session with a non-credential doctor you've just met. Nonetheless, this flight proved to be no less interesting than all the rest. I began telling each of the women about work and travel, and listened as they told me about theirs. Now, being three women, talk was quickly diverted ...

Off to a rough start. The alarm didn't wake me as scheduled. 6:05 am call from my boss "where are you?"...Me..."Oh crud". Shaking and hazy I call for a taxi. Luckily the 6:10 departure had been delayed. I manage to cram seven days worth of luggage into two carry on bags (like I said before take carry on). 7:00 am - arrive at AirTran airways terminal at Washington Dulles. There is nobody at the podium (I really don't understand this concept). I try the electronic check in, but since I have dinosaur paper tickets, I have no such luck. No bueno. 7:05 am - I grab the nearest representative that I can find from Jet Blue. She is kind and grabs a man from the break room. He trys to tell me that the flight is full. I say "yes I know, but I'm a ticketed passenger". He is accommodating and encourages me to make a run for it (Dulles is huge and at a walking pace takes about an hour to go from main entrance to gate). Over sized bags in tow, flip flops s...

T-3 Hours Till Take Off from IAD (Washington, Dulles) Note to self...waiting until the last minute to pack was not wise.  Tired I pop a tylenol P.M. and hope for 3 hours of good sleep.

Life is an adventure. We are never quite sure where the road will lead. Each time I am on the road I love to watch people. Each one brings a new epiphany. Sometimes the surroundings are beautiful, sometimes not so much, and others are just plain funny. If you would like to follow my travels and the small giggles from the road, stay posted.

I recently got delayed in Fayetteville, NC because of bad weather.  I watched military wives come and go, many with young children, anticipating the arrival of their husbands from over seas or cross-country deployment.  These women were resilient and absolutely in love with being mothers.  I couldn't help but reflect on my own travels with my son (and laugh) as I thought about the lessons learned. As I sat there I began to think about all the things I've learned in an airport.  Here are my lessons. 1.   You're going to meet weird people, interesting people, and potentially your next client/ boss, or business ally.  What you do with and take from these brief encounters is totally up to you.  Have you ever wondered weather or not these brief moments impact someone forever?  I have. 2.  Traveling with a child under 18 months old is a delight.  Traveling with a child over 18 months old is like being put through the washing machine...