Road Warriorette's blog

I admit it: I’m spoiled. Before October, I traveled to Manila twice and was upgraded to business class both ways each time. Trust me when I tell you that if you can get upgraded when you’re traveling trans-pacific, do it. But even though business class is the way to go, it’s definitely possible to have a perfectly fine trip in coach. Here are the tricks. Comfortable clothes. It’s great to be comfortable during any travel, but it is critical during a super long flight in coach. Yoga pants, leggings, a loose dress, or heck, even pajamas would be totally appropriate. The last thing you want when you’re trying to sleep upright is zippers or buttons digging into your skin. Eyemask. Even when the cabin lights are dim, there will be TVs, reading lights, or...

When the iPhone first came out, I wanted one. A few months later when my brother-in-law came to visit, and I got to be around his phone and its amazing features, I really wanted one. When I visited my sister in San Francisco and she had one, I really, really, really wanted one. A few weeks later I somehow lost my crappy POS phone that I had used for years. I figured this was a sign, and got an iPhone . Fast forward three years, I’m on my third iPhone and have never looked back. It is my second most necessary travel item after my laptop. Not just for the obvious phone, email, internet, and music capabilities (but I use those constantly and they are great!!) but for the apps. Not everything here is technically a “travel” app, but here is a list...

Last month, I was able to cross something off my bucket list: a triathlon. Honestly, I am not an athletic person, so this is quite a feat. It was a sprint tri, which means a half mile swim, 12 mile bike ride, and 3.1 mile run. I had to start basically from scratch with training, which is not easy in three months anyway. Add repeated business trips, and regular training became incredibly difficult. But I did it, and you can too! If you travel for work and want to train for an athletic event, whether a triathlon, a marathon, a bike ride, or anything else, it is definitely possible. It just takes work and a little planning. Here are my tips. Pick hotels that allow you to train. If you are training for a triathlon, it’s really important for a hotel to have a usable swimming...

How do you decide what hotel to say in while traveling? There are frequent fliers who live and die by how many miles they can get on a trip. They spend hours scouring the internet , looking for ways to get more miles. They do mileage runs, or check into a hotel and don’t actually spend the night. Then there are the people who aren’t worried at all about what kind of points they could accrue; they just want to stay in a nice hotel in a great location with amenities that work for them. So which is better? Certainly people may disagree with me, but I say neither. Both ways of thinking have merits, depending on the circumstance. I actually prefer local places a lot of the time, but I’ll typically stay in a chain to maximize points. What to look for in a hotel, regardless...

One of the best ways to ensure a smooth business trip is through your packing. No, really. Packing efficiently will save time, money, and aggravation. For example, airport security will be a breeze, and you will save time and money by not checking your bags. And that’s just a start. Over time, all business travelers develop their own packing tricks. In case you don’t have years to develop your technique, here is a cheat sheet of Road Warriorette’s top packing tips.   Clothes: Stick to a main color scheme. Build all of your outfits around one main neutral, such as black or brown. This way everything will coordinate and you will need fewer pairs of shoes. Speaking of shoes….. Only bring three pairs of shoes. This includes the pair on your...

Why do I love first class? Obviously, the bigger seats, the free drinks, and the food make for a nice flight. But what I really love in first is that I feel pampered. I like that someone is specifically assigned to make sure that I am comfortable and have what I need. Obviously, most of us can’t fly first on a regular basis so we depend on the occasional upgrade for the true experience.  Luckily there are things you can do when you are in coach to mimic first class and give you a much more comfortable flight. As with  many things, all it takes is a little preparation. Sleep comfortably. If there is a chance you will be sleeping on this plane, it will help so much if you have the right equipment. A blanket is a necessity, and pillows don’t hurt either. One of my...

I started traveling for work six weeks after I got married. The Home Warrior and I had been living together over a year and prior to this job I wasn’t working full time for about a month. And I think the longest we’d ever been apart during our whole relationship was three nights. So we had a lot of together time, and then all of the sudden I was on the road every week. Talk about a huge transition! My first trip was so, so hard. I was gone in California for four nights. I missed my husband, and our dogs, and my house, and my stuff….. It got easier from there, but it took some major trial and error to figure out how to maintain our relationship while apart. It affects my time when I’m home, too. During busy travel periods, I feel slightly frantic while I’m...

It happens to the best of us. You are moving along, traveling to your destination, working all day, getting your stuff done….and then you get to your hotel room. You’re alone, without your spouse, kids, pets, or stuff. For some people this is a dream come true!! For the people who are glad to get away, more power to you. For some of us, however, this is when the loneliness sets in. I know that when I am traveling a lot I tend to get really lonely and homesick. For some reason flying at night really gets me sad, which is not a good thing when I am on a multi-destination trip! Here are a few things I do to work through it. Set Skype dates. When I was in Manila in January, Home Warrior and I had Skype conversations every morning (night time for him). It was great to be able...

When traveling, starting out looking good is only part of the battle. Arriving at your destination without looking like you were sleeping on the airplane or train is a challenge for many. I have different strategies for longer flights vs. shorter flights, but there are definitely things you can do to minimize that “travel-worn” look when you get to your destination.   For all flights: Wear comfortable, wrinkle resistant clothes. The easiest way to look good during and after travel: clothes that don’t wrinkle.  Nothing says, “I just got off a plane,” like a crumpled shirt and a creased skirt.  There are plenty of wrinkle-resistant, non-iron clothes out there.  TravelSmith has a great collection, as does Brooks Brothers....

These days, there are almost more reasons to hate travel than to love it. Recent stories in the news about frustrated flight attendants and angry passengers underscore the changing landscape of flying.  What this means is that it is more important than ever to treat each other with respect!  Keeping basic rules of etiquette in mind will put us on the path to calmer, happier travel. If I were to write a comprehensive list of travel etiquette, it would be as long as a book. There are so many ways to be a polite fellow traveler that I don’t think I could write them all even if I wanted to! There are also many different categories: security, carry-on, food, cell phone, middle seat… I could go on and on. The following list of travel etiquette is a compilation of what I think is the most...