Cleveland

I'm writing from my hotel room in Cleveland, and this trip has gotten off to a wonderful start. My flight was on time and pleasant, although the plane was teeny tiny!


I sat next to a nice gentleman with my father's name (George) and we chatted now and again about the weather, Raleigh, etc. My luggage came off the plane about a minute after I walked up to the baggage carousel, and the car rental shuttle was waiting at the curb when I stepped outside. There was no line at the Enterprise counter, and I got one of those nice clerks who, even though for some reason my reservation did not include the price I'd locked in, gave me the cheap rate anyway, and even upgraded me to boot! Check out my sleek ride:


The hotel was less than 10 minutes away, and my Garmin got me there without a hitch. This place (Ramada Cleveland Airport South) actually has drive-thru check in--have you ever heard of such a thing?! Could not be more convenient. And to top it all off, not only did I get a coupon for the Olive Garden across the street (hello, convenient!) but I also got a "goodie bag" with free candy bars, gum, and a pretty big trial size of toothpaste. My room is typical, one of the nicer rooms I've stayed in while on business. My standards are pretty basic: clean, decent smelling, and in good repair. Check, check, and check!

The weather is so delightful, I've had the door open all afternoon while I catch up on my blogs using the very-easy-to-access wireless internet. I don't want to jinx myself, but man, if only every trip was this awesomely smooth! In half an hour I'll catch some Desperate Housewives, and then it's off to lullabye land so I'll be rearin' to go for my training tomorrow morning. I have never spoken to the contact person at this district because he was being very difficult in the planning stages (e.g., complaining to his sales rep that the training dept. never contacted him when we actually left him tons of voicemails and emails), so I hope he's nicer in person and the sessions go okay. I should be done by noon, so I'll have some time for an excursion or two. Gotta make my way to the lobby to check out the brochure rack for anything interesting. The main attraction here, of course, is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but....eh. The zoo might be more up my alley.