Thoughts on travel

I cannot even begin to tell you how good it feels to be home!

Later today, I’m going to sort through my e-mail, thumb through the stack of newspapers that the hubby held for me and do a little Web surfing. Afterward, I’ll be posting on tax and financial tidbits that slipped by me as I was concentrating on Taxpayer Advocacy Panel topics last week.

I realize that some of the coming notifications might not be news to you, but it will definitely help me get my brain back in normal (insert your own joke here) operational mode.

Right now, though, here are some quick thoughts on travel. I’m sure that those of you who will be heading out (and back) for holiday travel over the next couple of weeks can add exponentially to this list!

• Taking off in fog is no fun.
• Landing in fog is even less fun.
• It’s always better when someone meets you at the airport.
• The "save" function — in Word documents, e-mail messages or blog items — is a life saver!
• Neglecting to "save" is a major pisser!
• Muting your laptop’s audio notifications will reduce the number of quizzical (or disdainful) looks you get from colleagues as you type during meetings.
• Hotels that provide free Wi-Fi are going to get my recommendations and future business. That’s you, Fairmont Hotel in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
• $1 bills are a traveler’s best friend.
• Why doesn’t every airport offer free Wi-Fi? Think of the goodwill that can be engendered by allowing stranded travelers the easy and no-cost chance to catch up on e-mails and surf a little without having to through sign-up and pay procedures. Big shout out to the Kansas City airport where this is possible.
• Circling the Dallas-Fort Worth airport for an hour and a half sux.
• Finally landing at DFW instead of diverting to Shreveport, La., to refuel is the world’s biggest relief.
• Waiting to see if you make the next flight as a stand-by passenger is nerve wracking.
• Hearing the gate attendant finally call your name from that stand-by list is like winning the lottery!

Finally, travel miracles do happen.

As you guessed from some of the bullet points, getting back home to Austin yesterday was one of those all-too-frequent unplanned travel adventures. But I did get home. And I was only three hours later than originally planned.

Now here’s the miracle: My suitcase made it onto the stand-by fight, too!