Bees, and spiders, and flies...oh my!

I have a terrible fear of unwanted insects entering my car while I am driving on the highway. I should warn you, this is not an infrequent occurrence in my life, as my mom can attest to the fact that I called her panicky one day a year ago while driving in Michigan having been stung by a bee while driving on the highway.

The darn thing had blown into the open window, lodged itself in my long hair, and when I went to run my fingers through my hair, it stung me. I managed not to swerve off the road in shock as the thing fell madly about. My finger swelled up to the point where it was too puffy to wrap around the steering wheel.

For about a month after, I opened my windows with extreme caution.

But this fear passed, and thinking about insects of any kind was last on my mind as I headed out this morning for another six hour drive.

Until I thought I saw a fly traipsing around my car. It was really just annoying, not scary, but my eyes caught it so fast I thought maybe it wasn't anything after all.

I went back to singing along to the Wicked soundtrack, when suddenly I feel something crawling on my stomach under my fleece jacket. Again, I tell myself I must be crazy. I peek down inside my shirt carefully to see the fly wandering it's way around my skin. I won't admit to screaming, and I swear I kept my eyes on the road. But I did try to take my shirt off. It was instant reflex, like when you feel something ice cold and jump away. Until I realized if there were any truckers around (luckily on the empty highway there was not) I was about to give a free show, and quickly pulled my shirt back down.

In the crazed panic over a completely harmless fly, I didn't notice until that moment that the dratted thing had fallen and DIED in my iced coffee. Let me tell you before this incident, I was considering the idea of writing about the difficulty it takes to FIND iced coffee in the middle of the nowhere, rural, back woods area I travel through to get to my recruitment territory. We all know the importance of coffee while on the road. Just yesterday while sitting in my rental car before a college fair, I watched as a gentleman set his coffee on top of his car eyeing it carefully as he pulled out his travel brochures. I am pretty positive if it had spilled he would have looked like the little kid whose ice cream fell off his cone onto the sidewalk.

Back to finding iced coffee in the middle of nowhere. I mentioned this to a friend of mine while chatting on the phone... "How do people get coffee around here - they MUST go somewhere, I am not expecting a Starbucks, but maybe a Dunkin Donuts or a local something?! What to people DO?!" To which he responded, "they make it in their coffee pots?" A thought I hadn't stopped to consider...

I had settled for Iced Coffee from McDonald's, was happy to have some form of caffeine, but now I was forced to look longingly at the coffee where my new friend the fly had just perished.

All I could think was...You have got to be kidding me.

Needless to say, I will be keeping my windows closed from now on. For both my sanity, and the sanctity of the coffee.

Safe travels, and Guard your coffee!
Alexandra

Hide and Seek: Hampton Style

The Admissions Counselor Is Back on the Road.

Today kicked off my spring recruitment season, sending me off in a rented Chevy Impala on a day-long drive with a stack of CDs and audio books from my local library.

When I pulled the large boat-like vehicle out of my driveway this morning, I had a nagging thought in the back of my mind that kept bothering me. What if, now with my first fall travel season under my belt, what if I have ironed out the kinks, learned from my mistakes. What if there are no more funny stories to be told, experiences to share?

Oh, how I should have put those thoughts aside! Certainly in a world where I constantly entertain myself on a daily basis...I should have known better.

For as you all know well - where there is a GPS, there is an adventure to be had.

It started with...6 hours of perfect road time. I even tried a new route to my territory. Listened to an audio book. Took in the sunshine. Then I made the mistake of thinking that I was invincible, that I could drive anywhere, arrive at any destination, not only in good time, but without flaw. My ego was in need of a reality check.

And Rhoda, my GPS, was happy to provide.

I can't place all the blame on the poor electronic GPS, however, for I seem to fail, even as a grown-up, to know my left and right. I was never very good at this. I remember my piano teacher when I was seven, looking at me astonished during one of our first lessons because I was a bit unsure of which hand was which, an important distinction for playing the piano. There was a brief time after that when someone would make a reference to left or right in school, and I would put my hands on my desk as if playing the piano to figure out which was which. But that is a whole other story.

So Rhoda told me to turn right today, and I would be at my hotel in 4 minutes. 4 minutes! I made it! Success! And then I turned left. Which is not my right at all. And this silly road was like a mini highway with a barrier in the center so even if I wanted to make an illegal U-turn, I'd have to have a flying car to do so. Or a boss who doesn't mind paying for damaged rental cars.

But my panic was immediately calmed by the fact that all GPS devices know to "recalculate the route." No big deal. I will get off at the next exit and get back on going in the RIGHT direction. And then I hear the voice say, drive 6.5 miles to exit 11. WHAT?!?!?! NO. WAY. I could practically smell my hotel and now I was forced to be stuck in this direction for ... WHAT!?!

I have always wondered what would happen on the roads with the barriers if you went the wrong way. I knew I should've learned my left and right!!!! Or not quit the piano.

Yet, I followed the directions, went the 6.5 miles, doubled back, and before I knew it I was turning onto a street that would lead me to the hotel. I even saw a sign at the red light "Hampton Inn and Suites" with an arrow pointing straight ahead. I drive up a curved hill, round the corner, see a business park and a gas station and an Applebees. I follow the directions exact. Rhoda says "You have arrived at your destination." I do not see a hotel. Instead of panicking or getting angry I find myself shouting "I want my comfy white bed!" Then I calm down. It has to be here.

I had seen a building behind trees across the street that looked like a Hampton...so I double back, through a corporate building parking lot, but the small sign over there says Marriott Residence Inn.

Oh Sweet Mother of Troy.

OK. I am talking to myself now in this boat of a car as I turn it around again. I am going back to the spot where Rhoda claimed there was a hotel. All there is is a gas station. And a building that looked like it burned down. I really hope that wasn't my hotel.

And then I think, what is that road leading to the side of the gas station...hmmm...I follow it past more corporate suites, past a water tower and more business store fronts. And suddenly there it is. Not looking like a Hampton at all, hidden in a nook around the corner down a small hill. A Residence Inn like building with a tiny sign saying Hampton Inn and Suites. I yelp in happiness!

Now, happily planning tomorrow's high school visit atop a super comfy king size bed, I must tell you this hotel, with the largest rooms I have ever seen, was worth the game of hide and seek.

And I can sleep well knowing that there will always be adventures to be had; I am looking forward to sharing them with you during this spring travel season and hope to continue them this time even when I am off the road and back in the office.

Safe travels and Be Well,
Alexandra

It's beginning to look a lot like the holidays...

Happy December to all my fellow counselors, travel friends, and many readers of this blog!

I apologize for not posting in the past few weeks. I hope that your fall travel season is winding down now, as we all retreat into our offices to read applications in the post-thanksgiving chaos.

I love being back in the swing of things, easing myself into a routine again; the only time I pull out the GPS is to find places around my hometown. But I DID find myself having a thought last week (and dare I admit it) while I was standing in the cold and light snow one morning on the way to work:

"I wish I was in Jersey."

"What?!" my sub-conscious responded. "Are you nuts?"

But it is true, I can't deny it. Why, you ask? Because in Jersey, they pump your gas for you.

I wouldn't be standing in the cold, hands numb inside my gloves...I would be in my car listening to holiday music.

I found this phenomenon in Jersey scary at first. I would always fill up my tank across the border in New York before traveling long distances in Jersey because there were so many things about this process I didn't understand. Did you tip the attendant? Do you hand them your credit card? Do you have to be social? Am I that incompetent that I can't fill my own gas tank?

Until I was following my friend (who lives in Jersey) home one night and he needed to stop for gas, so it would be strange if I didn't do so as well. I felt one thing. Terror. My friend eased into one spot, while an available attendant waved me over to another. I tried to park close to the fill up station but was afraid of hitting the attendant, so I ended up way off.

"I can work with that..." He said, sounding wary.

And in that moment I did the two things I always tend to do when nervous (or excited, or in a new place)...talk to much and be honest.

"I'm sorry!!!! I'm so so sorry!!! I have never gotten my gas tank filled in Jersey before!"

He grinned. "Well ma'am, this is gonna be a nice treat then"

His friendly demeanor set me at ease. And I sat in my car listening to music, staying warm.

THAT is what I wished for last Wednesday at the gas station near my home.

So, I guess New Jersey is growing on me. :)

Safe Travels and Stay Warm,
Alexandra

To Eat or Not to Eat

This past week lately I've been hearing from my fellow counselors on the road that this is the time of year where everyone gets really sick of "road food" and dining out.

All I have to say is I am right there with ya'. What once seemed so exciting in our first few days of our travel, has completely worn off.

So as this week winds down, and as we count down our last days of fall travel season here are some ideas to keep you healthy and sane on the road!

Starbucks. As my last post suggests, I am a fan of Starbucks, mostly because I spent one summer working at a Barnes and Noble Cafe where we "proudly brew Starbucks coffee." I spent hours learning (and enjoying!) how to make a Carmel Macchiato.

Despite my love of Starbucks, I never paid much attention to the FOOD. These days I find myself craving a strawberry or carrots or anything that doesn't look like it will add ten pounds to various body parts. So there I was standing in line at Starbucks and behold: the Bistro Boxes.

I picked two and looked forward to a better dinner than anything at a chain restaurant.

Box One: organic grilled chicken, carrots, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, whole wheat pita and hummus

Box Two: Trail Mix, Apples, Whole Wheat crackers, and assorted cheese

In a land lacking fruit and veggies, this was pure Happiness.

Another option I've found decent is the to-go salads at the Olive Garden. What makes them unique is the distinct packaging where the croutons, cheese, dressing and other dangerous sides are arranged separately so you can really make the salad your own! A good choice on the road without a kitchenette!

Where do you eat when on the road?

Eat Well and Safe Travels,
Alexandra

Please God let there be a Starbucks....

Ever since the beginning of fall travel season I have had a new appreciation for chain restaurants, and well actually chain everything. From Target, to Chili's, to Outback, to Panera, Subway, Barnes and Noble, and Wallgreens. This has been more apparent to me recently as I have been visiting very rural areas.

I know that when I go into a Panera I can order the same thing that I would in my hometown. The magazine section in Barnes and Noble is always in the same place. There is a comfort to this. This, by the way, is coming from a woman who went to undergraduate school in a town that fought tooth and nail to keep Walmart and big chain stores out.

However, my GPS doesn't always get this need for the familiar. It wants me to try the local cuisine. Not only in its recommendations but in where it actually takes me. Here I was one afternoon hoping for one of those Applebees to-go under 500 calorie meals. So I punch into my GPS "Food Near My Hotel."

Applebees: 1.8 miles away

"Perfect!" I think.

Until Rhoda says, "Arriv-ing at Yo-ur Des-tin-at-ion."

And there was no Applebees. No plazas. A bar, an italian restaurant, and a string of small cabin-like houses. I keep driving ahead. There MUST be an Applebees. Rhoda hasn't been wrong yet, I think to myself. 

But Rhoda lied. So I retrace my steps thinking what now?!

I pass the italian restaurant again. What the heck I think, turning around, maybe they will give me something to go.

Sure enough the family run italian business was happy to pack my meal to go so I could enjoy it while doing work in my hotel room. To my surprise it was delicious, so in the end it worked out for the best.

But still....

Since then, my GPS has led me to many a field where it claims there is a Starbucks, an abandoned building where there should be a Panera, or a gas station that no longer exists.

When longing for the familiar this can be frustrating. Yet, it is also pushing me out of my comfort zone, creating new familiars for future travel seasons. As long as I don't toss it out the window in frustration....

:)


Safe travels,
Alexandra

Looks like I'm getting a new way to roll after all.....

Funny that only yesterday I felt the need to tell you about my rental car, the trusty KIA Soul.

This morning I received a phone call from Joe at Enterprise.

He started the conversation like a concerned salesmen:

"Hi, this is Joe from Enterprise, I just wanted to check how your experience with the rental car is going."

"Hi Joe, it's going fine..." I find myself groggily replying - it was quite early after all to be answering marketing type phone calls.

"So...." Joe continues. "Our marketing department sold the car you are currently driving."

(Pause)

"So if you could just bring that over today we don't want to cause you any trouble and we'll just change it out for you."

I try not to laugh. "Ok. But I'm in _________ county right now about six hours away....I'm back next week. Does that work?"

Many of my road friends have been sharing with me horror stories about rental cars with flat tires, over sized vans and pick-up trucks that are hard to park and even harder to maneuver. This is my first rental car glitch. Joe was pleasant and we worked it out in the end...despite the neon sign going off in my head saying "they SOLD my KIA???!?!"

So gone are the days of driving the Soul on the Highway, laughing when the song from the hamster commercial comes on the radio.

Looks like another car will be keeping me safe on the road in November!

Safe Travels,
Alexandra