Friday miscellany: Running in my fourth state this week

Lots more flying around this week! Last Saturday, my family got up early and drove south to my husband’s sister’s house on Lake James in North Carolina. We made great time. The drive was about 8 hours and 20 minutes and we made it in 9 hours. I’m not quite sure how, but the kids have become really good road trip travelers. I was the weak link on needing to stop for the bathroom. And I wasn’t even that bad, it was more that we needed to fill up the van on occasion.

We spent a lot of time boating on the lake. I tried tubing! (As did all the kids, including the 4-year-old!) We went hiking on a trail with amazingly Carolina-red dirt, which was lovely, although the two yellow jacket stings I got were no fun at all (swollen and itchy for four days — wow.) I ran with my niece every morning; she took it easy on me, which was generous of her, because North Carolina is humid and hilly.

On Tuesday, my husband (with our youngest tagging along) drove me to the Charlotte airport. I flew to Boston, getting to my hotel around 10:30, and then worked out at the elaborate fitness club in the hotel basement the next morning before keynoting a conference. Then it was back on another plane to fly to Philadelphia, arriving home at 7:30 Wednesday night. I had approximately 19 hours in the house by myself (the family wasn’t back from NC yet…my husband drove home with all four kids on Thursday! They made it with the 12-year-old serving the co-pilot role.)

I made good use of my 19 hours. I had made myself a checklist! I did laundry, packed for more trips, took out the trash, dealt with the fish, and did all the work that had to be done in my home office for the next ten days — including taping two episodes of Best of Both Worlds. I ran early in the morning before the heat hit, and I met a Before Breakfast listener for coffee at 7:45 — a time that is not normally available with our childcare schedule.

Then I took off for Newark airport in the afternoon. In the car I practiced my speech and listened to the How to Money podcast. I was a guest on this show a few months ago, and I enjoy listening to Joel and Matt’s banter (as rather hands-on young fathers, they have a perspective that I don’t think is all that well-represented out there.)

My flight to Portland (Oregon) was of course delayed. Why of course? Every other flight I was on this week was delayed too. But that’s why I fly direct if at all possible (and hence drove to Newark to get to Portland) — delays are just annoying, not a disaster of getting stranded in a hub somewhere. I finished Dune on the plane, and seriously thought of trying to ditch the book somewhere rather than transporting it back in my luggage. It’s huge! Interesting story in some ways, and it’s fascinating to see someone create an entire world — ecologically, religiously, etc. I think the plotting had some amateurish elements, with things suddenly presented as big deals that hadn’t been hinted at before. I’ll do a write-up in my “books read in June” post next week.

Now I’m posting this from Portland, where I’ll be speaking at the World Domination Summit. That’s six gigs involving travel in June, and while I enjoy it, I’m looking forward to a little less flying in July. Now I’m off to go run in my fourth state of the week!

In other news: Are you traveling too? Please consider picking up a copy of one of my books to read while you’re on the road! I think Juliet’s School of Possibilities is a great story, and Off the Clock will help put you in a vacation vibe.