A day in the life of a business traveler
6 a.m. EDT: It’s way too early for an alarm clock on a Sunday morning. This just isn’t right!
7:30 a.m. EDT: What, economy parking at the new Col. Weir Cook Terminal at Indianapolis International Airport has gone up to $9 a day! Oh, and now the economy parking shuttle drops you off at the transportation center instead of the upper ticketing level of the terminal. Um, the driver said this was to try to encourage travelers to use the higher-priced parking lots nearer the terminal by several yards. For $12 a day, they’ll drop you off at the departure level. OK, so much for the much touted parking conveniences of the new $1,400,000,000 terminal. Yes, that’s a lot of zeros.
9 a.m. EDT: Here I sit on Delta Connection flight 3543 on a beautiful, clear Sunday morning on my way to a work assignment this week in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. First off, what’s wrong with this picture? Didn’t I mention it was a bright, clear Sunday morning? Shouldn’t I be rolling out of bed this time of a Sunday morning for a leisurely breakfast, cup of coffee and a bit of news of the weather for the day? Oh, it’s supposed to get up into the mid-50 degrees F today, which should be beckoning me for a spirited jaunt through the rolling twisty roads of southern Indiana on one of the two-wheeled steeds now tucked away at the house during my absence this week. It also appears to be a potentially prime autumn day for leaf watching. I guess I’ll be checking out the fall explosion of color from 30,000 feet today.
Given the amount of air travel I do in a typical year, my elite level frequent flyer status usually gets me complimentary upgrades into first class. Dang, not this morning! What’s up with all these business travelers this early on a Sunday morning? Usually the next best thing is to snag an exit row seat. These seats usually have a bit more leg room to stretch out in, but not this morning. It’s kind of funny how narrow an airline seat can become with a rather generously size person sitting next to you.
9:30 a.m. CDT: News flash! The pilot just announced our initial approach into Minneapolis. The local temperature is 39 degrees F. That is an improvement from the 33 degrees F in Indianapolis a couple hours ago, and it’s a clear, blue-sky morning in Minneapolis.
10:30 a.m. CDT: Wow, check this out. An airport cop just whizzed by on some kind of three-wheeled, stand-up contraption. That would sure be the hot setup for tracking down some fresh hot donuts! Well, I have my first-class upgrade for the three-hour flight segment from Minneapolis to Calgary, so maybe I should stop whining now. Dang, my favorite seat 1A is already taken.
11:20 a.m. CDT: Northwest flight 2672 is climbing out of Minneapolis heading for Calgary, Alberta, Canada now, and I’m all settled into a nice, cushy, roomy seat 4D for the next three hours. The pilot just announced the weather in Calgary is a brisk 5 degrees C, overcast and light rain. What’s with this Celsius stuff? 5 degrees C just sounds downright frigid!
1:30 p.m. MDT: Welcome to Canada, eh! Wow, Calgary must be one popular place to fly in to on a Sunday afternoon. The line at the Canadian customs must be a mile long. I sure hope this doesn’t turn into an all-afternoon ordeal. The Australian round of MotoGP at Phillip Island is on at 3:00 p.m. MDT on SPEED TV. I’ve already called Lisa at the Hilton Garden Inn Calgary, and she has set aside a room for me with a brand-new, 37-inch HD TV and verified they have SPEED on their TV cable system. Hey, you learn a few tricks as a seasoned traveler!
5:00 p.m. MDT: Well, I made it through Canadian customs with no tricky questions, snagged a rental car and found the hotel in plenty of time to settle in and enjoy the Australian rounds of the 250cc and MotoGP events. It looks like the 250cc championship is going to go down to the final event in Valencia with Marco Simoncelli’s victory. With Lorenzo’s first-turn mishap in the MotoGP event, Rossi followed Stoner to the finish line and now appears to be staged to wrap up the season with his ninth World Championship. Check out www.redbullindianapolisgp.com for complete race results from Phillip Island.
7:00 p.m. MDT: All of a sudden, my ole stomach is reminding me it’s really 9 p.m. EDT as far as it’s concerned. Another one of my seasoned traveler recommendations to you all is to seek out local eating establishments to get a taste of the local culture and flavor.
9th Avenue in downtown Calgary is known as a hive of interesting shops and restaurants. Wandering around the area, Jacqueline Suzanne’s Bistro appeared to be a rather eclectic-looking establishment tucked into a heritage building, proudly proclaiming it’s self to be a Purveyor of Fine Food & Spirits. Well, Jacqueline Suzanne’s Bistro turned out to be a very cozy, family-owned and operated establishment full of European charm and elegance. 
Suzanne prepared my meal, her son served me, his girlfriend kept my water glass filled, a cousin manned the bar, and grandmother folded the napkins. A true family affair!
9:30 p.m. MDT: After a delightful dinner experience on 9th Avenue in downtown Calgary and a fully sated appetite, I’m back at the hotel and ready to call it a day. Sometimes weekend business travel blues can include some very pleasurable experiences that help to mitigate the grueling grind of today’s air travel.
Hopefully some fall colors and temperate weather are left over for next weekend in central Indiana so I can report back to you all some memorable riding and dining experiences here at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com.
Greg