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?<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The high points were: the Grand Canyon (again), Branson, MO, and Lake Havasu City, AZ.\u00a0 Branson was not exactly as I expected, but certainly didn’t disappoint us with the entertainment it offered.\u00a0 It isn’t Las Vegas, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.\u00a0 Lake Havasu City – or, more specifically, Lake Havasu and the surrounding desert – was our first experience with intense desert heat.\u00a0 The body wilts quickly under 115-degree heat, but it was interesting to experience it for the day.<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 The cheap motels were a waste of money.\u00a0 Lesson: you get what you pay for and that includes internet access.\u00a0 Even when I paid extra for internet and asked for a room near the router the service was mediocre.\u00a0 The best service I got on the GTE was at the RV park in Williams, AZ.\u00a0 Service everywhere else – at both the hotels and the RV parks – was mediocre.\u00a0 I could do my job, but it was difficult.<\/p>\n
The bottom line is that working while traveling, while feasible, is exhausting and difficult.\u00a0 We may do it again in October when we head south for the winter, but that remains to be seen.\u00a0 It is not clear that my company will continue to let me work remotely.\u00a0 If they don’t then the work-while-traveling problem disappears, to be replaced by the how-to-pay-for-the-travel problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 … Continue reading