It’s not just in DFW anymore!! Monday morning I was leaving the plane, checking out the cute outfits of the New York lady business travelers (they are inspiring, seriously) and started heading toward Starbucks. An amazing sight stopped me. There is a Sephora vending machine in DFW, across from gate C12. It’s so exciting to know that the place I visit the most can finally take care of me if I forget my makeup or hair or skin stuff!!

You know how there are sometimes those days that just don’t go well? Yesterday was that day for me.

This weekend I was in New York for the Travel Bloggers Exchange (TBEX–if you follow me on Twitter you probably saw the gazillion tweets with that hashtag). It was a great experience–I learned a lot, met many fabulous people in person that I have know online (Hi Grace!!), and got a lot of food for though. I also was able to spend time with some family that moved up there in May.

Monday I was supposed to fly from New York to Nashville for a visit with a client, then leaving for home at 4:50. The NY-NV leg went smoothly (although I was two hours early to the airport–probably a record), but when it was time to head home, not so much. Right as I was leaving for the airport, the skies opened up and the rain came pouring down. I knew this would mean a flight delay, and sure enough. I got to my gate and waited. And waited. We finally got on the plane an hour late, then they told us we wouldn’t be leaving for another hour so we could get off the plane if we wanted. This time it was due to weather in DFW. So I got off the plane, grabbed some food, and hung out in the terminal. After over another hour passed, I found out the connecting flight from DFW home had been canceled. Argh!!

I immediately called and got a car rented, just in case I had to drive. Then I went to the counter to talk to the gate agent, who basically said my options were to drive home from DFW or try to get on the Southwest flight direct from Nashville. I ran over to the Southwest gate and was, luckily, able to get one of the last three seats on the plane. We finally took off from Nashville at 8:35–the same time I was originally supposed to get home. But as we landed, I thought, at least I’m not driving right three hours home right now, which I would have been had I stayed on the American flight.

So the moral to this story is…..okay there’s not one. If you fly enough, there will always be crap that happens. At least there were no drunk people singing on this flight….

I learned Saturday that the anniversary for your blog is called a “blogiversary.” Who knew? This weekend, Road Warriorette turned one year old. This past year has been so exciting!! Launching the blog, honing in on my mission, increasing the regularity and frequency of posting, and moving to Boarding Area. I also am excited about the future, looking forward to the upcoming collaborations with The Highway Girl and Via-Her.

One year ago, I decided to start a blog for women about business travel because I felt there was a lack of information. If you are a woman just starting to travel for work, where do you go to find out what to pack, how to pack it, what toiletries you need, how to be comfortable on the plane and still look professional, etc? This is the void I have tried to fill, and will continue to try to answer these questions in the future. Thank you for joining me on the journey!!

Click here to read my first post, Where’s the Help??

Who would have thought the flights to and from Vegas would give me so much to write about? The drunk people, the wireless mouse, grabbing the seat in front of you….. Here is one more.

On the oh so awesome flight home, which included delays and drunk people, there was another element that contributed to my happy, happy state of mind. A family got on the plane and sat two rows in front of us. Beautiful kids, ages approximately 6, 3, and 1. The parents seemed nice, and were responsive to their kids needs. Until the plane took off.

As the plane was taking off, both parents (BOTH) put on noise canceling headphones. The older kids seemed fine–didn’t hear a peep out of them. But the beautiful, beautiful 1-year old started screaming immediately. And I mean screaming bloody murder at the top of her lungs. I saw the headphones on the parents and thought, surely they are checking on the video or something they are about to play for the baby. But no, the kid screamed and the parents ignored, with headphones on.

This lasted for over twenty minutes, with one parent occasionally leaning over and saying something to the screaming child. But they left the headphones on. Because, hey, there’s no reason they should have to listen to it too right? Just because everyone else did?

Now, I don’t have kids yet, and I am sure that being on a plane while your child is screaming is very hard. I try not to judge parents for how they handle their kids in any situation, because, again, I have no kids and have no idea how I would handle it. What I am upset about here is the headphones. It seemed like the parents were completely disregarding what was going on, and cutting themselves off from everyone else. The rest of us,  meanwhile, had to listen to their child express her displeasure. Not fun, not fun at all.

In a post before my last trip, I listed out my packing list for Vegas. I forgot one super important thing: the sunburn outfit. Luckily, I was careful enough that I didn’t need it this trip. But on vacation I read this post from Fly Gracefully, and it reminded me that I basically had nothing suitable should I get sunburned.

For any trip where I’m going to be spending time in the sun, I try to remember to bring something loose that doesn’t require straps of any sort to be digging into where a sunburn is. I love this cotton dress from Old Navy. Another option is a skirt with a drawstring waist and a top with a built-in shelf bra. And don’t forget a soft pashmina to drape over your shoulders in case you get cold. Again, nothing digging into the sunburn.

I don’t know why, but I somehow end up having no painful sunburn until the last day of my vacation, when I need the sunburn outfit desperately. They have saved me on many a plane ride home!

This is something that, in my experience anyway, not many travelers think about. How many times have you finally gotten into your seat on the plane, put your stuff where you want it, and settled in with your book and headphones, when suddenly you are jerked backward because the person behind you is using your seat back as their personal handle? Most people don’t even realize that every time they touch the seat in front of them, it moves. If they grab it and use it to support them while they sit down, the person in front of it feels it. If they elbow it while moving their stuff, it’s similar to the kid kicking your seat during a movie. There is often an empty seat nearby that you can use to help yourself balance as you maneuver into your row, maybe in the middle of the row in front of you, or next to you. Use that seat, not the one with the napping person in it.

That is all. Thank you.

Just to clarify, I’m talking about Paris, Las Vegas, not Paris, France.

Last week, Home Warrior and I went to Vegas for a long weekend. We were trying to spend less money on our hotel than we have in the past, so instead of staying in one of the MGM-Mirage properties (which are very nice, but pricier) we chose Paris. I found it on Hotels.com, and we got a deal for about $100 a night. Not bad for over the weekend, right in the middle of the strip. Or at least we hoped.

Once we arrived, we asked if it was possible to get a room facing the Bellagio so we could see the fountains. Not surprisingly, everyone asks for this, so they charged for it. The nice lady showed us the options: 1) an un-renovated room, facing the Bellagio, for $60 more per night, or 2) a renovated room for $100 a night. In addition, we got access to the Lounge, which has adult beverages and continental breakfast and dinner every day. She definitely discouraged us from getting the un-renovated room, but we figured we wouldn’t be in there that much so why pay double our original cost just for a nice room.

First of all, as soon as we got into our room, we were amazed.  I honestly was expecting a super dated, kind of crappy, dingy room with a great view. What I got was a clean, slightly dated room with a comfortable bed (with a duvet, not the old-style comforter like it shows in the website pictures), amazing view, and fantastic bathroom. There was a loveseat and chair that we turned around to face the window, and sat and watched the Bellagio fountains whenever we were in the room. If you “opened” the windows (once you get there you will know what I mean) you can hear the music from across the street, or noise from the pool, but if they are closed you can’t hear anything at all, despite being in the middle of the strip.

And the Lounge? It was fantastic. Continental breakfast included bagels with cream cheese and lox, pastries, yogurt with granola, and great coffee. Dinner included sandwiches, shrimp, fantastic desserts, and warm entrees. Plus you could have up to two adult beverages per day. The food was great.

Then we found out that as part of our Hotels.com package we had included two 24-hour buffet passes. These are a $40 value, which is actually still a great deal. At the buffets, breakfasts are around $15, lunch $18, and dinner $24. If you get the 24-hour pass, you can go to one of the buffets at seven different hotels (incl. Paris, Flamingo, Harrah’s, and Balley’s) as many times as you want. Yes, there are always lines, but the food was very good and the value can’t be beat. However I don’t know if I could have done that more than one day–buffets can be pretty overwhelming!!

One other thing–I spent some time at the pool and loved it. It is way smaller than pools at the Mirage or Treasure Island, but it is much calmer and less crowded. For people just going to relax, be in the water, and get some sun (as opposed to going somewhere to be “seen”) it is the best casino pool I have been to.

Overall, Home Warrior and I agree that we got a heck of a deal. We loved the location of our hotel, our view, the fabulous bathroom, and we only had to pay for food twice the whole trip. Not bad, not bad at all.

I’m pretty sure this would scare the crap out of me. They are so lucky that no one was hurt!!

Door Flies Off an American Airlines Plane

I think my title says it all, but I’ll give you the story.

I’m not going to say that the flight home from Vegas on Tuesday night was the worst flight I’ve ever had. Flight-wise, it was very comfortable. Not too bumpy, only two and a half hours, Home Warrior and I had a row to ourselves. But I will say that it was possibly the most annoying flight I have ever had, and that’s saying a lot. On the way home, I did the math. In the last three years I have been to Vegas six times: four for fun, two for work. And I’ve seen drunk people on the flights home, for sure. I’ve even indulged myself a few times.

But seriously, friends. I knew there was a problem when I saw the flight attendant heading past me with the second tray of liquor bottles. The entire three rows behind us got tanked. I mean, screaming, hysterically laughing, yelling…..and what I thought was the cap to the whole thing: once we landed, they broke into song. “You Don’t Have to Call Me Darlin’” by David Allen Coe. Now, I actually really enjoy this song. It reminds me of the end of the night at bars with close friends, weddings here in Texas, and other fun events. But now I will forever remember it as the drunk guy’s song from the plane.

Didn’t I say I thought the singing was the cap? I was wrong. Once we got on the bus to take us to the off-site parking, the last person to stumble on board was, you guessed it, the singing guy. He couldn’t remember where he was parked, slurred his words when talking, and tried to take another guy’s suitcase. Wow. The bus driver said to him, “Sir, can I get you a cup of coffee or something?” But the guy wouldn’t have it. When he got off the bus, one of the women said, “I don’t think he should be driving…..” I agree!

Now, I’m all for having a good time. And I love wine, and margaritas, and Baily’s. But please, think of your fellow passengers, and yourself. Remember that booze affects you more when you’re in the air than on the ground, you still have to drive home, and there are other people on the plane who are tired and want to rest and NOT HEAR YOU SING BAR SONGS AT 1AM.

Stepping off soapbox now.

I am back from vacation! And what a vacation it was. Good food, good company, nice pool, the blackjack…..All in all, a highly successful time away. Plus, there was inspiration for things to write about every which way I turned. (I’m looking at you, super drunk guy on the parking bus!)

The first time I turned to Home Warrior and said, “I have to blog about that,” was on our first flight, on the first day of vacation. During the normal “Turn off your electronic device” spiel the flight attendant gave us, I heard something new. “You are not allowed to use anything that gives off an electronic frequency. This includes cell phones, laptop computers, Blackberrys, and all other wireless devices, including your wireless mouse.”

Now, I’ve been on a lot of flights in my day, and sometimes I feel like I can get up there and do the safety presentation along with the FAs. But I have never heard of them saying that you can’t use a wireless mouse on a plane. In fact, I have never heard them say anything about a wireless frequency before. It makes sense, if you think about it. Of course, that being said, I don’t use a wireless mouse on a regular basis like some of my frequent traveler companions, and so it wouldn’t occur to me to use one on a plane.

So my question is, do any of you readers use a wireless mouse regularly? Do you use it while flying? Has anyone every said anything to you about it?