The QTE was our first attempt at traveling long distances while I continued to work. The strategy was to travel only on weekends and for me to find a good internet connection during the week. So how did that work out for us?
I think if I had to choose one adjective to describe the QTE it would be “exhausting”. Working all week and then traveling all weekend (with me doing all the driving) left me with very little down time. Each travel segment was long, by GTW standards: we averaged nearly 300 miles per travel day as compare with around 200 miles per hop on the GTW. In addition to being long, almost every travel day required a refueling stop, which meant extra planning. And the need for speed meant that we couldn’t afford any scenic side trips, so much of the journey was through parts of the country that we had little interest in seeing.
The high points were: the Grand Canyon (again), Branson, MO, and Lake Havasu City, AZ. Branson was not exactly as I expected, but certainly didn’t disappoint us with the entertainment it offered. It isn’t Las Vegas, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Lake Havasu City – or, more specifically, Lake Havasu and the surrounding desert – was our first experience with intense desert heat. The body wilts quickly under 115-degree heat, but it was interesting to experience it for the day.
The low points were: Georgetown, KY, and the cheap motels that I booked in an attempt to get better internet access than I could get at the RV parks. Georgetown would have left a better impression if it hadn’t poured, but even if the weather had been sunny the RV park would have been a downer. The cheap motels were a waste of money. Lesson: you get what you pay for and that includes internet access. Even when I paid extra for internet and asked for a room near the router the service was mediocre. The best service I got on the GTE was at the RV park in Williams, AZ. Service everywhere else – at both the hotels and the RV parks – was mediocre. I could do my job, but it was difficult.
The bottom line is that working while traveling, while feasible, is exhausting and difficult. We may do it again in October when we head south for the winter, but that remains to be seen. It is not clear that my company will continue to let me work remotely. If they don’t then the work-while-traveling problem disappears, to be replaced by the how-to-pay-for-the-travel problem.
QTE post-mortem
The QTE was our first attempt at traveling long distances while I continued to work. The strategy was to travel only on weekends and for me to find a good internet connection during the week. So how did that work out for us?
I think if I had to choose one adjective to describe the QTE it would be “exhausting”. Working all week and then traveling all weekend (with me doing all the driving) left me with very little down time. Each travel segment was long, by GTW standards: we averaged nearly 300 miles per travel day as compare with around 200 miles per hop on the GTW. In addition to being long, almost every travel day required a refueling stop, which meant extra planning. And the need for speed meant that we couldn’t afford any scenic side trips, so much of the journey was through parts of the country that we had little interest in seeing.
The high points were: the Grand Canyon (again), Branson, MO, and Lake Havasu City, AZ. Branson was not exactly as I expected, but certainly didn’t disappoint us with the entertainment it offered. It isn’t Las Vegas, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Lake Havasu City – or, more specifically, Lake Havasu and the surrounding desert – was our first experience with intense desert heat. The body wilts quickly under 115-degree heat, but it was interesting to experience it for the day.
The low points were: Georgetown, KY, and the cheap motels that I booked in an attempt to get better internet access than I could get at the RV parks. Georgetown would have left a better impression if it hadn’t poured, but even if the weather had been sunny the RV park would have been a downer. The cheap motels were a waste of money. Lesson: you get what you pay for and that includes internet access. Even when I paid extra for internet and asked for a room near the router the service was mediocre. The best service I got on the GTE was at the RV park in Williams, AZ. Service everywhere else – at both the hotels and the RV parks – was mediocre. I could do my job, but it was difficult.
The bottom line is that working while traveling, while feasible, is exhausting and difficult. We may do it again in October when we head south for the winter, but that remains to be seen. It is not clear that my company will continue to let me work remotely. If they don’t then the work-while-traveling problem disappears, to be replaced by the how-to-pay-for-the-travel problem.
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