My job is fully remote, but we have an in-person summit once a year. COVID put a cramp on that for a few years, but now it appears to be a regular thing. Last year, it was in Salt Lake City, where my employer is based. This year, it was in Dallas.
Thankfully, there wasn't any extreme weather in Wisconsin. However, some people in Florida had to cancel at the last minute due to the hurricane.
Of course, the news found a way to make me feel uncomfortable right before flying.
Before I left, I dropped the Cougar off at the shop. It had been overheating recently, and I needed them to look into it.
Victoria brought me back home. I loaded up the car with the little I brought for this trip.
I stopped by Kwik Trip for breakfast and then reached the airport, which was pretty empty.
The plane took off, and I enjoyed views of the isthmus.
The interesting thing is that there was a priest in the same row. I spoke with him and discovered he had spent time at Sacred Heart in Marshfield. That's where I went to elementary school, and my parents still belong. It's definitely a small world!
I was soon in Dallas. It was much hotter outside, and the airport was a lot busier.
I took the bus they had waiting for us and headed to the hotel. It was the Sheraton right in Downtown Dallas.
While I have Marriot's rewards, I wasn't going to risk having this sort of charge for WiFi. That is one thing about more expensive hotels. They like to charge for everything. That's why I like midrange hotels where WiFi is included.
I always like to pack my USB fan. In the car, it's great to keep air flowing. At a hotel, it's great for white noise. I'm also a bit paranoid about computer security. I use a data blocker when charging my phone on a USB outlet.
They reserved the Perot Museum of Nature and Science for Monday's event. It was cool to see the exhibits and eat the free food.
When I got back to the hotel, I was still a bit hungry, so I bought some pizza from the marketplace there.
On Tuesday, it was packed full of events and breakout sessions. I will say they fed us well!
We had a team dinner later that night after the official events concluded. The day was exhausting, so we ate at one of the hotel restaurants instead of going somewhere.
After that was over, there was time for more unofficial events. A coworker and I walked a few blocks to the 7-11 to pick up some beverages for it.
We eventually met some other coworkers at the bar. The interesting thing is that the hotel actually had three bars.
We stayed out a bit late. I made sure to have a little extra caffeine for Wednesday's jam-packed schedule.
Later that night, we had a celebration dinner. That was super fancy!
After that, it was time for more unofficial events. It was great talking to people outside of the typical rigid event structure. On Thursday, we had half a day's worth of events, and then they sent us back home with a boxed lunch.
My flight was late, so I could mill around with some other coworkers. We eventually made it to the airport. I see my bag was basically considered a personal item.
A few of us had late flights, so we stopped at Buffalo Wild Wings for supper. That really hit the spot!
I had the latest flight, so I took that time to sit and relax at the end of the terminal.
Before you know it, I was on the plane and back in Madison. I think that was the last flight for the night. Everything was closed, and the airport was dead.
I made it home around midnight. Everyone was sleeping except for a certain someone. She warmly greeted me, and we spent some quality time together.
It was great seeing my coworkers in person, and I had a great time. It was exhausting, though. I was happy to be home and ready to catch up on sleep. I will say this trip helped me hone my packing skills. I was able to do a several-day trip with a 35L backpack and a single MOLLE pouch. This will definitely come in handy when I hit the road.