Moreno Valley, CA 2017

Yesterday I completed my third week in a row of out of town work.

Sunday afternoon I flew home from Dallas, washed some laundry, hugged my kids, re-packed and headed to the airport on Monday. My sweet friend Dori offered to drive me so we could have a nice visit because we have missed each other.

I'm discouraged from volunteering to "bump" my flights because my employer would like me to get to my worksite as quickly and seamlessly as possible. But, right when it was time to board my flight to the Ontario Airport, they announced that our plane had been grounded for a mechanical defect and the replacement plane was much smaller so several of us needed to be re-routed and the compensation would be $400 in vouchers.

I was interested to find out their solution since I knew from booking my flight there were only a handful of flights in and out of Ontario each day. I approached the desk to ask only to find myself a few minutes later re-assigned to a flight scheduled to depart 5 minutes after my original flight to land in Orange County (John Wayne Airport). From there, the airline would pay for me to be shuttled the 40 mile drive to Ontario Airport where, I was told, I would need to pick up my checked bag since it had already been loaded onto the plane to Ontario. It all seemed reasonable enough. It wasn't like I was giving up my seat for a stand-by ticket.

I rushed to my new gate along with two other gentlemen who were also reassigned. The first hiccup was that the new flight was delayed by 45-minutes. Not too bad, but delaying my total travel time by about 2-hours when added to the drive during California rush-hour traffic between airports.

We had a comfortable flight and landed. The three of us who had been re-routed to Orange County (others were sent to LAX and elsewhere) banded together to find our way to the correct Delta agent and the correct shuttle to begin out journey to Ontario to collect our luggage. The second hiccup was that our shuttle broke down on the side of the freeway.

No trouble, we called an Uber and the shuttle driver reimbursed us with cash for the fare difference (since we had paid him with the airline voucher to take us all the way to the airport). We laughed and shared stories about our families and our jobs and completed the final leg of our adventure.

We arrived at Ontario Airport around 8:30pm, 2.5 hours later than scheduled, and all of the baggage claim offices were locked up tight with the lights shut off, but after some searching, we located a Delta agent who got the key to unlock the room where our bags were stored. Except then came the third hiccup when we discovered that my travel mates' bags were waiting for them but mine was not. A look into the computer revealed that my bag was at Orange County Airport where I had landed!

At first the agent tried to put the mistake on me. After all, my suitcase had arrived on the same flight I had . . . so technically, they hadn't lost it. Why hadn't I checked the baggage claim when I arrived? She wanted to know. In hindsight, that seemed like an obvious thing to do, but had not occurred to any of us to do since neither the agent who re-routed our flight or the agent who had put us on the shuttle had mentioned that perhaps we should check the baggage claim because, apparently, sometimes, when your bag has already been loaded on a plane and the passengers are already boarding, they randomly snatch one bag (but not the others) back off the plane and put it on the new plane. Lesson learned for the future, but in this instance it was too late.

As the Delta agent and I tried to hash this out, I turned around after a few minutes and noticed the two gentlemen who had traveled this far with me were waiting to make sure I was OK. That really touched my heart. These two people who were strangers a few hours before, who I would never see again, who had been delayed, and who I knew were late to the things they needed to get to, were concerned for my well-being. How kind. I told them they could leave and we parted ways. Long story short: The Delta agents were rude but my bag was delivered to my hotel room at 3:00 a.m. All's well that ends well and I am sure I will have forgotten entirely about the unpleasant feelings I had when my luggage was lost by the time I redeem that $400 for some sweet airline tickets.

Finally, around 9:30pm, I got into a cab to begin the 45-minute drive to Moreno Valley, CA where I would complete my final week of work on the road. My third week in a row of travel and my second market research study in a row.

What can I say about Moreno Valley?

In Chicago, I stayed in The Kimpton Gray, a gorgeous hotel in the heart of the city. I had a suite that was huge with a sitting area and a luxurious soaker tub in the bathroom. I worked in a 41-story sky scraper with the most modern amenities and dined under the stars next to Millennial Park. It was a work week under the most lovely of circumstances.

I did not know what to expect in Dallas, but what I found was that I had another nice hotel room. This time it was at a Hyatt, more modest, but I still had a nice room with a sitting area and a huge sectional. The towels were fluffy and everything was bright and nice. I worked in another beautiful building and the staff spoiled me. I worked in the office from 8:00am-8:00pm so, just like in Chicago, I was tired from the long hours, but the circumstances were once again very nice.

As we drove into Moreno Valley, I noticed bars on windows of the businesses and the taxi driver looked concerned as he made sure I knew I should not go out after dark. I stayed at a Best Western and if I be completely honest, it was as nice as what I would book when traveling with my family trying to stay on a budget--you know, when the money is coming from my own pocket and not on an employer's dime. It was a little on the shabby/dingy end of the spectrum, even for a Best Western, but I had a King size bed with 5 fluffy pillows and the breakfast was delicious.

On Tuesday, I made my way to the Moreno Valley Mall, where I would work for the next three days at a little market research office my company in Salt Lake had contracted with to help us conduct the interviews. Their staff would approach mall patrons, screen them with questions, and bring the ones who qualified to me for a more extensive interview. The subjects were compensated with cash for their time.

The little office was more dingy and shabby than my hotel room even though the overall mall was pretty nice. This was the week of the study when we tried to find as many low literacy candidates as we could to fill our quotas so it makes sense that I was in a poorer area. The staff I worked with was nice enough. Everything was just . . . different.

I was starting to get a little burned out from working so many long days in a row and now I didn't have as much to look forward to. No delicious meals ordered by the staff in Dallas and delivered to me on real dishes. Now, it was a short break each day to see what I could find to eat in the mall food court. The weather outside was about 105-degrees while I was there, not that it mattered much since I only went outdoors to take a car between work and my hotel.

On Wednesday, when I finished working at 7:30pm, I decided I needed a pick-me-up. I didn't want to carry my heavy computer and office supplies through the mall to go shopping (I didn't have any extra room in my luggage anyways), but there was a nail shop right next door advertising a manicure + pedicure for just $20. I sat in an electric massage chair soaking my feet in hot water and relaxed deeply while the nail lady went to work on my rough skin and cuticles until I walked out the door with my first brightly painted toenails of this summer.

On Thursday, the fatigue really started to set in and where I was feeling it the most was in my back and shoulders from working long hours at the computer every day and carrying heavy bags through airports and lugging my stuff between the worksite and hotel. I had noticed a place in the mall selling seated massages and I decided to check it out. I wasn't expecting much, but it wasn't expensive to give it a whirl for 20-minutes so I figured it was worth a shot. I have to say, that was the best 20-minutes of all in Moreno Valley. Wow! That was like a power massage. Every little minute restored me so much and helped me finish strong.

Friday morning, I packed up and headed to the Ontario Airport. This time, there were no incidents. I arrived faster than expected and was the only passenger present when I went through security. I don't think that has ever happened before. I relaxed and waited for my flight and read a book my sister-in-law had loaned me. It felt nice not to look at a screen.

I thought I would feel so ready to go home, but I felt uneasy thinking about how quiet the past 10-days had been. Yes, I had worked hard, but at night when I returned to my hotel room it was so peaceful and no one needed anything from me or created drama. I wondered how I would handle re-entry to my noisy, messy life.

My kids were at my mom's house watching Beauty and the Beast. As soon as I got to Ogden Friday afternoon, I drove to my mom's to pick them up. In the car ride on the way home they made me laugh harder than I had laughed since I left home and it reminded me how much I love being around these cooky people, hard parts and all.

We had a peaceful evening with lots of snuggles from Katie. Brian took me out to dinner a Zucca, one of my favorite Italian places. I drove Sophie to work at Waffle Love and then struggled like crazy to stay awake until midnight to pick her up when her shift ended. This morning, my dad came to pick up Sophie and Ian to take them garage sale-ing. He came inside to visit for a minute. He and I and all of my kids sat in the living room talking and laughing while Ian played the guitar. His musical talents always make my heart soar. Katie and Isaac had built a fortress around themselves on the big red couch where they were taking turns playing bop-it. Seeing my kids get along and play together always fills me with cheer. I looked at all of them and I was happy. It's been a good three weeks of productive work and it feels great to be home!