I got sent on my first ‘spontaneous vacation’ at work this week. On Tuesday I booked a flight to head to the UK for a customer service visit leaving Wednesday morning. A wise engineer once told me, “You know you’re important when they send you on (or recall you from) a vacation.” But if I were really important, I would be the one sending people on ‘vacations’.

Some highlights from the trip:

• “Sir, is this your bag?”
  “Are these Fig Newtons in here?”
  That’s all the further the exchange went, but it left me wondering if there is a new upcoming TSA policy banning figs or if maybe the inspector was craving something more than just a cookie; perhaps craving fruit and cake.
• “This airplane was not designed to allow you to remove your shoes during take-off” Perhaps someday airplane technology will catch up to my advanced technique of shoe-removal, but today is not that day.
• Upgrades! Through the magic of airline travel, it was somehow cheaper to buy first/business class tickets last minute than coach so that’s just what I did. I got on one of United’s upgraded 767’s. It had the lay-flat seats for some choice sleeping, and a full 15in. monitor and on-demand entertainment including movies, tv shows, music and games (you could play tetris against the other passengers!). There was so much great stuff to do, I almost wish I didn’t waste my flight sleeping soundly. If you have an extra 105k airline miles floating around, I highly recommend trying it.
• Right-hand drive. I’ve driven in the UK several times before and I always get a kick out of it. I initially had some issue with staying in my lane and not hitting curbs, but, amazing, having the stick shift on my left hand was pretty easy to get used to. This trip I got a supersweet diesel, 6-speed, hard-top convertible, PURPLE, Ford Focus! I could get 45mpg without even trying. The really weird part is riding in the ‘passenger’ seat and not having any controls in front of you. Also, the highway drivers there are all excellent and always keep over except when passing.
• Harses, harses, harses. Evidently the “Silicon Valley of England” where I was working is also the horse breeding capital of England. I was driving one day and I saw what looked like, from afar, a very, very tall man walking down the side of the road. It was actually a man on horseback riding down the street as if here were on a bicycle. It was initially a bit of a shock to me but I got over it. I mean hey, horses are people, too.
• The Imperial Pint. If you think Americans love their beers, the British will put you to shame. When you order a pint there, you get a massive 20oz. bucket of cask-conditioned ale that’s hand-pumped by the bartender. It’s not overly cold, just the temperature of the basement, and barely carbonated, but it sure is delicious. I had the pleasure of enjoying one at a tiny pub called ‘The Plow’, during lunch nonetheless, and I got to go try to align a big laser afterwords.
• The weather apocalypse. When I arrived in London, they had been experiencing several days of below freezing temperatures, and they even experienced some *gasp* snow! Evidently that is a rare occurrence there and so everyone was freaking out. I was literally tripping over piles of salt in the street as they attempted to take care of the 2cm of snow that fell on the streets. People were walking around bundled up like the Michelin Man and nearly fainted when they saw me in short sleeves and a moderate jacket. It was not quite as comical as when they got snow in Georgia, but I had many good laughs anyway.
• Not getting trapped in Chicago By all accounts, I should have been stuck in Chicago for the night on my way back to Denver. The plane was late, it was snowing, half the flights were canceled, my flight crew left, there were people screaming in the baggage hold, and the jetway froze to the plane. They hosed the plane down with de-icer, plowed the runways, got us a new crew, got maintenance to fix the cargo hold (the screams were from frustration and not from pain … so we were told), made us get on off and back on the plane for good measure, and backed the plane out around the stuck jetway with surgical precision. At first I was a bit upset about the delay, but I need to give United massive credit for getting me home just a little over 3 hours late. It was damn good to sleep in my own bed last night.

Cheers!