Convention Insider (Conventions.net)

I don’t want to turn this into a blog about crazy travel stories, as that is another blog for another place, but when I travel as much as I do it is part of what keeps me looking inside the convention centers, hotels, meeting venues and other places.  Part of that has to do quite a bit for travel and how I do it.  I had to get this story out as it seems that not even I cold make this up.

It began easily enough with the need to fly to Los Angeles to speak at an event to a group of people in my network.  This was the fifth time for this presentation to this type of group so it is a no brainer. That is until I have to get there.

I headed out with my usual time allotment to getting to the plane.  This usually means I am running late, but for some reason today was different.  Today I was early.  I was about 10 miles from my house on the way to DIA when I discovered the error of my thinking.  I did not have the boarding pass I worked so hard to get printed 24 hours in advance to give myself the early seating.  I quickly turned the car around knowing that I was now very late, which is okay because I am used to being late.  Back to the house and back to the airport.  I am officially late, as per usual.

Then thinking about being late and thinking about my presentation and going over in my head all the things I had to do caused my next adventure.  I missed the turn to the airport.  This is a toll road, there would be no turning around easily and getting back to the original turn.  I know this is an emergency I will use the emergency turn around in the median.  Yes, I am probably going to jail on top of being late.  I found the turn around, but in doing so it cause my laptop bags and most of its content to end up on the floor.

Then finally I found a parking spot in the shuttle parking because i am a frugal traveler.  I park in the cheapest place possible.  I would have to hope that there was not many stops for my shuttle. At this point there is problem of being very late, but I can manage.  Then I noticed that my bag that had dumped out all over the floor of the car, was sans my wallet.  Yes, I need to have the ID in the wallet to get through security, otherwise no bid deal I could somehow manage. I yelled to the bus driver to stop so I could ru back to the car to get my wallet.  He pleasantly obliged and sped off as soon as I got off making me have to wait for the next shuttle.  I headed back to the car, and bent down to grab my keys…yes, you guessed it right, the keys were now on their merry way to the terminal with the original shuttle.  I have not yet screamed but I was close.  I flagged down a supervisor that told me he would radio ahead and when the shuttle made its stop at the terminal he would ask the driver to search for my keys.  I could see the shuttle from where I was standing and knew it was a few miles to the terminal.  I guess having him stop for two minutes and having the supervisor run me over there in his air conditioned vehicle was asking too much. I waited. Then I waited some more, and then even more.  Soon (relative term at this point), I saw the shuttle we were looking for.  He pulled up sheepishly handing me my keys and sped off again, not waiting for me to get the wallet from my car.  I would have to wait for the next available shuttle.

Suffice it to say I was the last guy on the plane which was too bad as I worked very hard to get that early on pass.  It became moot and I got to sit at the back of the plane between two linebackers and in front of a screaming toddler.  I thought myself lucky for making the flight although late, right up and until the man next to me said, "flying makes me sick sometimes."  No you could not have ended this any better.

Tags: Travel, Conferences, DIA, Denver, Road Warrior