Martha of Silicon Valley Mom Blogs posted about an upcoming business trip this week that she’s really looking forward to. And my recent jaunt to L.A. was a business trip to remember (except for the hotel.) I’m all for going away for work, provided it’s to a good destination, I can stay at a luxury hotel (who could say no to 500-count thread sheets at the Ritz? Certainly not me), and I can sleep in until 9 AM (Central time.) Seriously, what working mom wouldn’t want that? So maybe that’s why I’m a little nervous that I have to go to Georgia for business on Sunday night. The project is good, and I’m sure it’s pretty and the people are nice, but visiting the South just doesn’t sound that relaxing to me. I’m from the Midwest: Southern accents make me blush. (People from the South always sound so polite. I’m not that polite and, worse, I whine my vowels.)  Therefore, I’m prompted to ask my dear readers: Where is the worst place you’ve traveled to on business? If it’s Chicago, though, please don’t tell me. My Midwest accent can’t take the criticism.
Tags: business travel, working moms, moms traveling for work, traveling for work
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Best? Sonoma County
Worst? Gastonia, North Carolina
I flew to Alabama/Tennessee/Georgia to help film a promotion and TV show at the World’s Longest Yard Sale. Seven months pregnant. In August.
But that wasn’t the bad part. The entire time I was there folks assumed that my colleague–whom I was none too fond of to start with–was the father of my child.
It rained virtually the whole time. And we couldn’t find any good restaurants.
Ya’ll? It’s not that bad. We wear shoes and have restaurants and stuff. Possibly not at any of the sites of the Yard Sale extravaganza, but, still…
LOL Busy Mom. My biggest problem with Gastonia was the lack of activities – not the southernness. I did really love the hush puppies, sweet tea and boiled peanuts.
This is hilarious. I can’t wait to try hush puppies!
OK, I’ll concede you Gastonia. We do have real live cities ’round these parts. Is sweet tea really that unusual? Just wondering.
Okay. This is kinda sad. Part of me wants to be indignant, since I was ‘born n’bred’ in Georgia. Of course, for the last twenty years I’ve been in L.A. or D.C. or London – so the other part of me completely understands your concerns. I’m back in the south now. And its a whole new thing. You have to relax into it, thats all I can say. And I definitely understand Marketing Mommy’s experience — it’s still quite conservative and I can just see all the nice (pronounced nahs) people thinkin’ the man she was travelin’ with was the baby daddy. But anyway…if you are in Dalton, here are a few things to do. Go to the Oakwood Cafe in downtown Dalton for some real Southern food. Its not fancy…but if you like ‘home cookin’ its yummy. Yes…sweet tea…fried green tomatoes…and lots of things that ya’ll yankees eat, too. And if you are a wine lover, make sure you check out Planet of the Grapes, a great little wine bar, also downtown. They have great wines by the glass – and you can have food delivered there from other downtown spots. The Depot is nice for lunch. Chelsea’s tearoom on Thornton Ave is nice for lunch or tea. Ya’ll come back now, ya’hear?
Thank you all for the tips! I’ve never had sweet tea…
Lest all of you think I was denigrating the culinary options down South, I should emphasize that something of a Southern girl myself (from Virginia) and the best food I’ve ever eaten was on a BBQ-focused road trip my husband and I took through Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee.
But along Highway 127 around Chattanooga? It seemed like all my icky coworker/supposed baby daddy and I could find was one greasy spoon after the next. The food in Chattanooga was pretty great, though.
well, I love visitng all places so this was a tough one to answer…I’d have to say one of the
(many) trips that I took to NYC while I was still working at the law firm. I normally LOVE NYC
and they put me up in a posh hotel in Times Square and everything. But I remember that this
particular trip was the first business trip away from my daughter and all I wanted to do was
Go.Home. I was truly miserable and New York never felt so noisy and dirty and crowded and
impersonal to me.
We ended up taking my daughter to NY during the holiday season later that year and it was just
great. Funny how such a (literally) small thing can change your entire perspective!!