Travel Log - Star date 20080816 - Williamsport, PA

Plane, train or automobile: Matrix. This car is awesome - we went to get a small refrigerator for a party we had planned and ended buying several other items as well. We got out to the Matrix and realized that the back cargo area had some bottled water, a case of Mike's Hard Lemonade and some stuff for my upcoming work trip in it. Here is what we squeezed into the Matrix:

• Travel Man
• Travel Wife
• Travel Kids (2)
• A 2.7 cubic foot refrigerator
• Two boxes containing training manuals
• Case of water
• Case of Mike's Hard Lemonade
• Small bag of grass seed
• Large back of seed mulch to put over the grass seed
• A large cast iron skillet and pan combo

Also on this trip, I cashed in my Moe's Passport and am now the proud owner of my very own Moes T-Shirt!

Mission: Management Training in Williamsport, PA

Number of human interactions: 15! Finally, a decent sized class! I was getting worried after The One with Two People.

State(s) visited: PA

City visited: Williamsport, PA

Interesting fact about this city: Home of the Little League World Series. It started the day after I left, so I was going out as most people were coming in.

I stayed at a quaint, cozy hotel in downtown Williamsport - the Genetti Hotel. Let me put the description into common terms for you: quaint = hasn't been updated for 50 years; cozy = the smallest hotel room I have ever been in. I opened the door to my room and noticed that the door juuuussst cleared the bed. To my right was a bed, dresser and TV. I had to turn sideways to get between the dresser and bed to get to the window air conditioner. To my left was a desk, closet, armchair and bathroom. I could put one foot in the bathroom and touch my bed at the same time. I could sit in the armchair and put my feet up on the bed (or on the desk, or reach the sink). Now in fairness to the Genetti, I did book the cheapest room they had and the map on the door indicated that the other 30 or so rooms per floor were much larger. You get what you pay for.

I also had the opportunity to try a sticky bun from Mr. Sticky's. If you have never had one, I would suggest not eating for several days before trying one (Michael Phelps would have trouble eating one in a single sitting, and he eats 12,000 calories a day). This delicious concoction weighs about 2 pounds and makes a dent in the plate if you drop it. Serious sticky bun!

Halpert says: I am still trying to finish my sticky bun - it is bigger than me!

Travel Log - Star date 20080719

Plane, train or automobile: Jet City Woman by Queensryche is echoing through my head.

First time this year I have flown in back to back weeks. I flew on our preferred carrier, US Airways, which has recently changed their Dividend Miles program. I used to get a minimum of 500 miles for a Roanoke-Charlotte leg on a trip... but no more. Now I get actual mileage (155). So let's cut my miles earned by 2/3, cut out my in flight snack and start charging for the second bag. Give me less, charge me more - what a great business model!

SkyHigh Airlines still has the best frequent flyer program...

Mission: Management training for 14 store managers in Tuscaloosa, AL.

Number of human interactions: 23

State(s) visited: NC and AL

City visited: Tuscaloosa - Roll Tide! I am not an Alabama fan (sorry, Richie!), but I do know that it is one of the "name" schools that UCF has beaten in football. One good thing about college towns - they have Moe's!!!!

Interesting fact about this city: Other than Alabama football, I'm not sure.

Halpert says: What does "Roll Tide" have to do with elephants?

Travel Log - Star date 20080628

Plane, train or automobile: Matrix. The iPod jack is the best feature in this car - you can drive for hours and never have to touch the radio.

Mission: Management Training, plus required participation for two of our Trainers who just became certified to teach the course I teach. They took lots of notes so they could facilitate this workshop in the future. There is always a little extra pressure when other Trainers are observing - we can be so critical of classroom management!

I also spent a day visiting stores with one of our Regional Vice Presidents. I learn so much from seeing the store through their eyes, plus we get some windshield time between stores.

I stayed at the same hotel on both visits, but I won't be staying there again. I got back to my room the last night about 8 p.m. and no one had touched my room all day. Bed unmade, towel hanging in the same place, you get the picture. Isn't that one of the benefits of staying in a hotel room - someone else does all the housework? The front desk gave me a reduced rate for the trouble, but I won't be going back. They are now dead to me. They bypassed being on notice.

Number of human interactions: 12

State(s) visited: WV, MD and PA

City visited: Back to Norristown, PA, near the King of Prussia Mall. And a Moes in Shippensburg, PA.

Interesting fact about this city: I took the other Trainers to the Mall with me, and I think it grew some more! This place is gigantic - we had to stop for a snack on our way to a restaurant for dinner, and then stop again for dessert on the way out.

Halpert says: If only I was a service dog, then I could have gone in the mall, too.

Travel Log - Star date 20080531

Plane, train or automobile: Matrix!!! This car is great for traveling - sips gas, rides well, carries stuff and it has an iPod jack - no more changing CDs or seeking good radio stations!

Little Girl had a dance recital today. She is in ballet and tap, so she appeared in two numbers. Her favorite role was in the ballet group - they danced to a song about chocolate chip cookies out of reach on a shelf. She was picked to exit the stage last, which means she got to run back and grab the cookies at the end of the number. She was so excited! She is so beautiful when she dances and you can tell that she truly loves dancing.

Mission: Management Training in Atlanta

Number of human interactions: 16

State(s) visited: NC, SC and GA

City visited: Buford, GA

Interesting fact about this city: It has a huge mall and a Firestone (the Matrix got it's first oil change at the ripe old age of 3 weeks!)

Halpert says: There was a Moe's next to the Firestone - does it get any better than this??

Travel Log - Star date 20080426

Plane, train or automobile: Yes, all of them! Okay, I didn't go on a train, but I did fly for the second time this year and had a lovely Toyotoa RAV4 as a rental car.

Mission: Management training in two divisions.

Number of human interactions: 33. Both Division Managers were present, and I had one of our field trainers attend as part of his development plan.

State(s) visited: MI, PA, NY

City visited: Detroit Airport, Erie PA and Buffalo NY. My last post was all about Niagara Falls and the DTW airport, so I won't bore both of my readers with those details again. Erie has a 6 month old Moes, so guess where I went for dinner. Our field trainer went as well, and he said it was a good burrito. Good burrito?!?!? He got to pick all the fillings, the chips are made on site and he picked his own drink! Maybe he chose poorly...



New Indy movie coming out, so I figured I would rekindle that swashbuckling spirit!

Interesting fact about this city: I stayed at a hotel that connected to the Splash Lagoon Water Park. I was, unfortunately, on the same side of the property as all the families with soggy, screaming children. When my girls are soggy and screaming, I like it - other people's kids... No.

Halpert says: No Dogs Allowed???? What kind of family fun park is that?

Travel Log - Star date 20080405

Plane, train or automobile: An airplane (or 4 if you want to get specific) and a rental Camcord (Camry / Accord). This was actually the Toyota version - a decent ride.

What a day on Friday!

Original plan - leave JAX at 6:10 pm, stop in Atlanta, arrive ROA at 9:30 pm.

Actual events - board plane in JAX at 7:20 pm. This group of guys in their early 20s is seated behind me and the one guy in the group that has traveled before is trying to impress his companions with his knowledge. He is going on about how we are on an Airbus, when one of the guys asks "Then why is the safety card for a Boeing 757?" He was much quieter after that.

There is a ground delay in Atlanta, but our pilot pushes away from the gate so that we can be first in line to leave when the ground delay is lifted. We sit for about an hour when we are informed that the delay might go until 9:30 pm. The pilot informs us that we are going to head back to the gate if people need to make other plans. This seems to be taking a while when the captain comes back on to tell us that the tug the pulls the plane in broke, so we have to wait for another tug to come over. We get back to the gate about 9 pm, at which time the ground delay is lifted, so we taxi out and are wheels up about 9:15 pm.

We get to Atlanta about 10:30 and I check the Delta flight schedules on the Raspberry. My flight to ROA is delayed until 11:45 - I will still get home tonight! Several delays and gate changes later, it is 11:41 pm. The information board at the gate shows a new departure time of 12:25 am with an arrival time of 11:40 pm. (I'll let that sink in...) The woman next to me sees the new departure time, sighs, then notices that something is not right with the departure time. I lean over and say "The good news is that we arrive one minute ago." She quickly moves to another seat.

We finally leave @ 1 am, and are wheels down in ROA at 2:05 am.

Mission: Leadership Skills training for 40 people.

Number of human interactions: Upwards of 50

State(s) visited: Florida ("Long have I yearned to return to the land of my birth...")

City visited: Jacksonville. This is one of my favorite places to visit.


Great climate.


Pro Football Team.


Great Regional Operations Team.


The hotel that I typically stay at is a new Hampton Inn and Suites with a gazillion restaurants within walking distance. I actually ate at Kokopellis two nights and Moe's only once - same type of food, only more veggies at Kokopellis.

Interesting fact about this city: Hosted Super Bowl XXXIX

Halpert says: My first time on a plane! I love the bag of peanuts - just the right size for me!

Travel Log - Star date 20080329

This trip didn't start well for me. Leaving my family on Easter Sunday never sounds like a good idea. Plus, you'll recall from my last post that I have been on the road almost continuously in March. I get into town with my heart set on eating at a Chipotle, which is good enough if there is no Moe's around. God bless those folks at Chipotle - they were closed for Easter (or Equinox (the sign said both)). My Easter dinner was a new Angus Burger at McDonalds.

Plane, train or automobile: Yup, Ol' Faithful. The Exploder got rewarded for many years of service with a brand new set of tires. The lease company was reluctant to replace the tires at the 104K service, but a screw in the right rear tire in the middle of Ohio pushed them over the edge.

Mission: Leadership Skills training for two divisions in Central Ohio. My week got better... I had one of the most humorous groups I have ever had in a workshop and we had a great two days. I always let the group pick a Break Manager to call and manage breaks because I might be setting up for the next segment and lose track of time. I had put these yellow star shaped Post-It notes on the tables without any real idea how to use them. The newly appointed break manager scribbled something on one and stuck it to his shirt. I wandered over to his table to see that he had written "Break Deputy" on the star. We get cranking through the content (maintaing self-esteem, focusing on specific behavior, reinforcement techniques, etc) when I notice the manager next to him also had a star. She really liked the idea of focusing on specific behaviors and had named herself the "Specific Sheriff". Another manager across the room kept going back to the concept of one bad apple spoiling the bunch and she kept using the words "contaminate" and "quarantine". The Break Deputy made a badge for her and she was the newly appointed "EPA Marshall".

At the end of the week, I got an email from the Break Deputy:

You are the "AYATOLLAH of INFORMATION”, the" POTENTATE of PRODUCTIVITY” and the "DUKE of DEVELOPMENT'

FEEL FREE TO GIVE YOURSELF 3 GOLD STARS

What a great group!

Number of human interactions: 30 plus

State(s) visited: West Virginia and Ohio

City visited: Reynoldsburg, OH

Interesting fact about this city: Birthplace of the Tomato!! I had no idea that I was in the stomping grounds of that juicy, lycopene filled fruit... Yes, tomatos are a fruit.

Halpert says: What's a tomato??