OT- what do you do when you travel for business?

Submitted by sheepdog on
Friends- I travel some for business, maybe 16-18 weeks per year. Most of my business is conducted during the day so I tend to have a lot of nights free. Im not the strip club type so I usually find a decent restaurant bar, get a glass of wine and scroll MgoBlog.... Im doing it right now in Denver, Co, two deep and low on content. What do you do and where do you go? What restaurants, activities do you do to keep yourself preoccupied?

HenneGivenSunday

May 8th, 2018 at 10:15 PM ^

I pack an hdmi cord and my laptop and hit some Netflix to watch some shows my wife isn’t interested in. If I’m with colleagues or customers, I hit the town with them.

TheKoolAidGuy

May 8th, 2018 at 10:18 PM ^

See the sights. Work out. Read. Experience the local culture (see also: download a dating app). There’s probably one or more interesting things about any given city/town in America that doesn’t involve visiting a strip club. That being said, when I would travel extensively for work I’d spend a lot of time mapping out efficiencies for my day to day life for when I wasn’t traveling.

Gordon

May 8th, 2018 at 10:18 PM ^

I've got my laptop, so there's always work to be done.

Also, as a sports dork, there's always stadiums and arenas to see, or games to go to.

I've got a list of stadiums/arenas to see sometime, and a list of national parks to go to.  There's always something to do, just gotta be curious and look around.

APBlue

May 8th, 2018 at 11:00 PM ^

Yep. This time of year late arrivals to MLB games will sometimes result in cheap tickets. Check out minor league baseball games, if you’re in a small town.
Bad weather? Don’t be afraid to see a movie by yourself.
Always more work to be done, pounding out spreadsheets and emails I’m the hotel room, or from a quiet bar somewhere.
Hit up current or former colleagues to join you for dinner. That’s always good networking.
You can always spend a half hour by calling your parents/kids/significant other.

Steves_Wolverines

May 8th, 2018 at 10:39 PM ^

I plan ahead and star any routes on strava I think I can steal close to where I'm staying. Running to explore a new area with the bonus of stealing a segment from someone is awesome.

Steves_Wolverines

May 9th, 2018 at 2:31 PM ^

Strava is basically a social media site for runners and cyclists. There are segments, which are mostly popular routes, and the app tracks every attempt on that route. So if you can post the fastest time, you are the "winner" of that route. So it's fun to find routes in new cities, and try to steal a segment from someone. I have 1st place on segments on Maui, Big Island, and Oahu. 

Gordon

May 8th, 2018 at 10:20 PM ^

Also, as the sponsor of Not Just A Shooter, I strongly recommend reaching out to me if you live in a major league city for your insurance needs, scheduled around Red Wings, Michigan or Tigers road games.

Would I love to help you and your family as soon as possible?  Absolutely!

Would I also love to see the Tigers play at Wrigley? Absolutely!

Moleskyn

May 8th, 2018 at 10:20 PM ^

These days I usually travel with a team. So it's usually getting dinner and drinks after our meetings, then back to the hotel to do work to catch up on the things I missed during the day.

Amazon Prime is also clutch. Netflix too, especially that you can now download content ahead of time. Currently watching through The Americans on Prime.

Trebor

May 8th, 2018 at 10:20 PM ^

I go to local breweries/beer bars, sit at the bar, and talk to bartenders about suggestions for food and drinks, and sometimes for other interesting places to check out. I've found some awesome places this way that I otherwise would never have visited. My wife and I also do this during some vacations, helps you feel a bit more local I think.

TrueBlue2003

May 9th, 2018 at 12:40 AM ^

if I'm not with co-workers/clients, I check out the breweries or a nearby beer bar.  Almost every major city in the US (and a lot of smaller cities) has a few excellent breweries now.  Sitting at the bar with a flight talking to the bar tenders and patrons is a good way to hear about the city and what's good.

Also do this with my wife who is more of beer nerd than I am.

Trebor

May 9th, 2018 at 1:33 PM ^

I had a week long training in Idaho Falls last year, and was the only representative from my company there, so I had a lot of free time on my own in the evenings. I found what was essentially the only good beer bar in the town (it's a heavily Mormon population there, so drinking establishments aren't extraordinarily prevalent) and popped over there after dinner on the Monday. I had a fantastic time talking with the bartender, and he gave me an entire itinerary for my Friday afternoon since the training ended before lunch that day and I didn't fly out until Saturday morning.

I ended up taking a quick little road trip out to Jackson based on his recommendation, and along the way stopped at Melvin Brewing in Alpine, WY, and it's still the best time I've ever had at a brewery (and I've been to a lot, by my count north of 200). I was the only patron there, the beer was phenomenal, the bartender was totally awesome, the views from their back porch are astounding, and one of the owners/brewmasters gave me an impromptu full tour of the entire place where we just shot the shit about all things beer related for about an hour. So if you're ever in the Jackson or Idaho Falls area for any reason, stop at Melvin (they also operate out of Thai Me Up in Jackson if you don't want to drive to the production facility in Alpine).

PopeLando

May 8th, 2018 at 10:21 PM ^

I like to find a show or a bar advertising live music. If nothing, then I frequent the restaurants and the movie theaters.

Also, lots of YouTube videos, and just the right amount of porn.

Chipper1221

May 8th, 2018 at 10:21 PM ^

My travel is always to NJ so i try to get over to NYC as much as possible. Or just catch up on sleep. If your anything like me you’d enjoy the quiet for a while

cweerapp

May 8th, 2018 at 10:24 PM ^

Do you travel to Denver consistently or bounce around?
 
When I started I would go to a new city every few weeks. Was warned that if I didn't plan something to look forward to in advance I'd end up doing the, work-dinner-back to hotel routine and hate my life within 6 months.
 
Go to a Rockies game, check out Ophelia's or Brider for dinner, go for a run through Wash Park (or get a national gym membership do not work out at the hotel), happy hour at tap 14, walk through the aquarium etc.
 
Basically don't let yourself turn into a Netflix at the Marriott with carry out in your bed hero. Attack each city and you'll find yourself go from dreading the travel to looking forward to it.
 
Also I live in Denver hence the recommendations but you get my point even if you're bouncing from city to city
 

Hail-Storm

May 9th, 2018 at 12:03 PM ^

I'd recommend Silverton.  It is a realy classic small town in the mountains with a cool train that goes up into the mountain further with great views. Not usre how much extra time you have.

 

 

DM2009

May 8th, 2018 at 11:52 PM ^

I also live in Denver. Some other suggestions:

  • Check out a film on the rocks. 
  • Along those lines, a concert at Red Rocks might be something you can sneak in at night.
  • There's some decent hiking trails within about 20 minutes of downtown. This time of year, you can get in a quick hike after work if you want to. Check out Green Mountain - it's 20 minutes driving from downtown, and you can do a 2 hour hike after work, get to 7,000 feet in elevation, and have a sweet view of downtown.
  • In addition to the Rockies, there's a rubgy team called the Glendale Raptors that might be fun to check out if you're up for something like that.
  • Walk over to the highlands and check out the restaurant/bar scene there.
  • Boulder is worth a half day if you can spare it.
  • Denver Central Market is a cool place to grab dinner.
  • Biker Jim's for gourmet hot dogs, including rattlesnake! 
  • Cherry Cricket is Denver's official dive bar - huge, juicy hamburgers, good beer selection. Walking around Cherry Creek can be interesting, but it's pretty snooty.

If you want some restaurant recommendations, I can give you a decent amount. 

Jasper

May 8th, 2018 at 10:26 PM ^

Is there anything interesting (restaurants / culture / sports) in the town? If so, go see it.

If not, stay inside and read or watch something you have queued up on Netflix / whatever.

If the town is boring there's no point in trying too hard to find something interesting.

Shadowban

May 8th, 2018 at 10:27 PM ^

I started traveling significantly for work around the time my first kid was 1.5 years old, and did it for about eight years, 30-40 nights a year away.

It's hard to overstate how relaxing it was, even if I happened to be working a twelve hour day, as was frequently the case. I loved driving to my hotel room after a long day at work. I'd usually stop at the store and grab a little something.

I'd go to the room, throw on the TV or some tunes, and have a drink or two as I leisurely prepared to go out for dinner. I'd take a shower and walk somewhere for dinner (I liked going alone because I couldn't stand my coworkers tastes in food). I'd have a nice meal on the client's dime, along with one or two more drinks while I read my book before and after dinner. Then, it was back to the room to chill, or to meet the co-workers for more drinks.

I'm getting a tear in my eye reminiscing....

trueblueintexas

May 9th, 2018 at 1:40 AM ^

I was just in Virginia Beach with a room facing the ocean. I simply opened the door, turned on a ball game and read books. When I called my wife she kept asking what I had done that day and why I wasn’t exploring the city. We have two young kids. I was exploring the sound of peace and serenity.

ESNY

May 8th, 2018 at 10:33 PM ^

When I travel for work, I’m generally working my ass off so little time to do anything besides eat and drink and work out. For eating, I Always eat at restaurants/bars, never room service. Even if it means sitting at the shitty hotel bar. Plus Being from NY, I’m not opposed to walking relatively far away for dinner so that’s always an option. It’s easy to google to find good restaurants or bars in every city or occasionally I’ll just wander around til something looks good. With Google Maps it’s impossible to get lost. I’ve even done the same thing in Amsterdam when I was traveled there for work by myself. Found a cool looking restaurant online, walked there and back via google maps

I also always eat at the bar only and not a table and generally will look for a place with a TV at the bar so I can watch whatever generic sporting event is on. That way I’m not looking exclusively at my phone.

M Go Cue

May 8th, 2018 at 10:40 PM ^

Spent last week in Las Vegas. It was a lot of fun to see how that city has gone crazy for the Knights. Also had the chance to check out the Neon Museum, which is a graveyard for the old Las Vegas signs, many of which still light up. Love to do the tourist stuff when I have time. Also, I try to hit the gym most days to at least make up for the less than healthy options I usually choose when out of town.