Raleigh Trip - Day 1

The whole reason for my drive from Hampton Roads to Raleigh yesterday was to resume my Technology Refreshment oversight role at the local airport.  By arriving early, though, I had taken the pressure off of myself to hurry to the hotel.  Even with this reprieve, I was still awake by 0645 (I'd set an alarm) and started teleworking.  It was quiet around Alan and Tammie's home because they are self employed.  For most of the early part of the morning, I prepped for the Install work at Raleigh Airport and started a small load of laundry (to try to erase evidence of the cigar smoke from the night before).  At about 1000, Alan made me breakfast and I said goodbye to Tammie (she had errands to run).  After that, I returned to my computer for meetings that finally ended at 1135.  By that point, Uncle Terry was awake and I had a chance for some one-on-one time with him while Alan was working in his office.  My laundry also finished and Brenna called to ask about my visit with her sisters.  We talked for a bit but I asked if we could reschedule to a time when I wasn't working.  She agreed but then asked me about some ideas for outdoor adventure near her home (she had her Spring Break going on).  I helped her a bit and then turned off my computer.  The morning work I'd done was enough to ensure I'd reach my full hours for the day (because I had 3.5 hours of "credit" dedicated to the transit).  At lunch time (1210), with the weather looking sunny and calm (and with temps in the 70s), I went on a walk with Alan.  While wandering through small groves of dogwood trees and wisteria vines, we completed a circuit of nine holes of the The Country Club at Wakefield Plantation.  There were plenty of interesting birds in the area and I happily recorded them for later entry on the eBird website.  Alan told me a lot of news about himself and his family from the 1970s and 1980s - things, I'd never heard before.  By the end of our walk (1330), we'd logged about four miles.  I told Alan he was like the brother I'd never had...  He must have shared this sentiment because we ended up returning to the patio for more conversation.  Alan later let me have some of his leftover pizza and bruschetta (both good); I washed it down with some sparkling water and chocolate milk.  Tammie returned at about 1630 and was surprised to still find me there!  Before departing, I spent some more visiting with Uncle Terry and he asked that I keep him updated on my Nomad Life (of course I agreed).  At 1700, I finally left Tammie and Alan's home and used some backroads (towards the north) until I reached I-540.  There was definitely some rush hour traffic by then so I couldn't hurry - fortunately, I was only about 30 minutes from hotel.  Along the way, I ended up in Durham County (temporarily).  Eventually, I reached I-40 and turned east again.  At that point, I encountered a major traffic jam but was able to carefully exit the Interstate by skirting the worst of it in a breakdown lane (last 100 yards).  I found my hotel, the Staybridge Suites (it was actually located in the town of Morrisville), at 1730.  Even at that point, the temps were still in the 70s.  As usual at an IHG property, I was able to check in quickly and resume the last little bit of teleworking that remained.  Fortunately, I was able to finish up before the hotel's social hour was finished (1900).  Though I wasn't very hungry, I stopped by for some pasta, some salad and a big cookie.  Even better, the hostess also gave me one of the local beers (from nearby R&D Brewery) they had on tap.  At around this time, members of our Installation Team started checking in with me, reporting they had arrived in the area.  After that, I returned to my room to take care of some personal items (finance, travel planning).  There was even time for me to check out the Business Center - rather than set up my own printer, I was able to all my (two-sided!) printing there.  During this window, I thought about exercising at the Fitness Center but ended up lounging in my room instead.  For the rest of the evening, I watched movies; bed time was at 2300.  Very excited to get started on another week of Tech Refresh in the morning!