Sometimes I'm Actually on the Road

My life on the road used to be spent primarily "on the road." Early in my Church Development Fund career I traveled the highways and bi-ways of California by car. I used to put 30 - 35,000 miles per year on my car. Nowadays I do about double that in the air. Yesterday, however, I got a taste of the road with a driving trip to Bakersfield - a 326 mile round trip.

While there are a lot of inconveniences of air travel -- security checks, airport parking, middle seats, etc. -- there are some real benefits to being an "air warrior" over being a "road warrior." It's kind of hard to set up my laptop and get some work done while I'm driving (not that I haven't tried! -- just kidding!!). The primary traffic you have to worry about is how long it's going to take for everyone to get their luggage down from the overhead bin before you get a chance to climb out. And, of course, you cover 326 miles in about a half an hour.

If you haven't already done so, be sure to pass my URL along to a friend. It's easy to do at www.RoadWarriorBrad.com. Thanks!

Hello Colorado, Good Bye Colorado

Talk about a quick trip. I arrived at Denver International today at 2:45 and head out tomorrow afternoon around 5:00 pm. I'm actually staying south of Denver in the boomtown of Parker. There are new rooftops everywhere... except in this photo from my hotel room, of course.

I remember my first trip to Denver. I was surprised how far Denver is from the Rocky Mountains. I thought it would be right next to the foothills, but you have to drive about 20 miles or so from Denver to get to the mountain roads. The interesting thing is, however, no matter where you stay in the Denver area you always have a view of the Rockies in the distance (as long as your room points to the west!). Seeing mountains is nothing unusual to me. Southern California is surrounded by 10,000 foot peaks -- we look directly at 10,000 foot + Mount Baldy from the front door of our house. The spectacular thing about the Rockies, though, is that when you're out on the plains you get a panorama of miles and miles of mountains stretching from north to south as far as the eye can see. And the sunsets... tonight's was spectacular.

Take a look at www.RoadWarriorBrad.com (even if you already have), they have added a "countdown clock" so you can see how much time you have left to vote. And of course, you should Vote for Brad! :-)

Heading to Colorado

I guess when you're a Road Warrior you've got to head out on the road every now and then. So tomorrow it's off to Colorado for an overnighter. I'll be in Parker (just south of Denver) for about 24 hours and be home about dinner time on Saturday. I'm sure I won't be getting the same spectacular view I once had in Colorado (right), but you can be guaranteed you'll get a chance to see whatever my newest view is on my next post.

The "Vote for Brad" campaign has kicked off pretty well so far (at least as far as I can tell). I know that my wife and kids have voted for me. And I've had email responses from a lot of friends who have done the same. Here's the standard email response -- "I voted for you. I hope you win!" It's funny how many people have written almost exactly the same thing. But that certainly doesn't diminish my thankfulness for their support.

It's not exactly like I'm "running" for something important here. "If I am elected Road Warrior I'll put a chicken in every pot and two cars in every garage!" I can't do that. But what politician can?!

Now you can forward http://www.roadwarriorbrad.com/ to a friend. Go to the site and click on "Forward to a Friend" and it will walk you through some easy steps. And don't forget, while you're there... click on Vote for Brad!

Off and Running

The voting has begun. I don't know how I'm doing, and I won't know until the results are divulged some six weeks from now, but I do know that I've got a few people voting for me. I sent out some emails and several people have responded with "I voted for you!" and quite a few have said they passed the word on to others. Thanks!

Here you see me in my natural habitat. While I may be a Road Warrior, my more common position is sitting at my desk driving a computer. The Road Warrior contest is a pretty common topic of discussion around the office. Primarily because I keep bringing it up! Wouldn't you?

Now of course where I would rather be is the location of my third photo that was submitted for the contest - Kauai. We had actually been given a room with a terrible view (that we paid highly for) when we checked into the Marriott Waiohai at Poipu Beach, but a little friendly complaining got us moved to the best view in the house.

Don't forget -- vote for Brad. This link won't take you to Hawaii, but it will take you to the voting page (I'm right at the top of the list) --http://www.americanwaymag.com/Surveys/RoadWarrior/RoadWarriorVoting2007/tabid/3397/Default.aspx?PageContentID=11

Let the Games Begin!

After saying 'thanks' to the Comfort Inn of Schererville, Indiana (see previous post) I would be remiss if I didn't pass along similar thanks to the good people of Williamsburg, Virginia. I can't remember what brand of hotel I stayed in (lucky for them) but when I pulled back the curtain in my room this was my view. No kidding. Here I was in Williamsburg, the cradle of liberty. I was expecting split rail fences, rolling green hills, maybe some horses or cows grazing, but nope, I got a block wall. The block wall thing worked out pretty well, though, because this was the second picture I sent to the folks at American Way Magazine for their contest searching for the Ultimate Road Warrior. Between Schererville and Williamsburg they must have felt sorry for me.

Voting for the contest begins in about ten minutes. Take a few of your minutes and vote for Brad -- I would sure appreciate it!

Vote for Brad -- www.AmericanWayMag.com

Thank You, Schererville, Indiana

To you this may look like a pile of garbage. To me, it looks like Cabo San Lucas. When the folks at the Comfort Inn in Schererville, Indiana checked me into a hotel room with this view they helped place me on the road to Cabo.

A couple of months ago I entered American Way (American Airlines' inflight magazine) Magazine's "Sixth Annual American Way Road Warrior Search." Much to my surprise, I was selected as a finalist. One part of the contest was to "Submit up to three photos with creative captions that best depict your life as a Road Warrior." My entry kicked off with this photo and the caption "From the penthouse to the outhouse, I’ve stayed in them all. And have a photo from the window of every hotel room I’ve stayed in." That, along with some other things I submitted, got me selected as a finalist in the Road Warrior Search.

As a finalist I am being flown (along with my wife) to the Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort along with the other finalists for a magazine photo shoot. Our mugs will appear in the January 15 edition of American Way, which I am told has a readership of three million people.

So to the Comfort Inn in Schererville I say "thanks." But you guys really ought to clean that mess up.

Starting October 15, click here to vote for Brad! -- www.AmericanWayMag.com