So it started off with saying good-bye to my family and fiancé, whom I will miss very much. The trip that is planned is for Ektron Development Training under their latest flagship product, CMS 400 .NET v6.
DAY 1
Today (overnight) was the flight day in which I took the 11:15pm flight and arrived in Chicago at 4:40am CST. First was a relaxing shuttle ride by the great Larry L. He was able to get their in perfect timing and not be a mute.
So I arrived into Sea-Tac and was able to get through security, even with my lead shield for my film. They had to scan it twice, so I am hoping they did not raise the strength and ruin the film.
The flight was not that long, but I was not falling asleep. In Chicago, most of the stands were closed, except for McD’s .. which I was thankful because I left the airport that closed everything up, but arrived as they were opening them at O’Hare. The layover was long, even then I did not get any sleep. The sun then rose around 6am CST, which gave life to the airport and people started moving around a lot.
I took off then and arrived in Manchester, New Hampshire, just north of where I was having training. The one thing that got me very frustrated was how they can tack on fees, but not give discounts.. this applying to the Rental car company. I wont mention their name (begins with a ‘Th’ and ends with a ‘rifty’) Since I am not 25+ years old, they get to add a fee. Whether this fee is normal or what they determine at the time, I think it is ridiculous. Go ahead, look at my records.. oh wait… its clean driving record. No.. they charge me 50% additional to what I was paying, then add on the minimum insurance too. Now for this trip, the bill for the rental car was $100+ a day!!!
I left in a hurried manner, hoping to get to my hotel and then relax on my free day. The turnpike had an interesting name, Everett. Someone tried to pronounce it to me like I never heard it before 
It was $0.75 and I threw it in as I drove by. I then took the exit to my hotel, yet my problems just began. My dad always said I was a good cartographer (guy who read and study maps) and usually I do it by sense of where I am and know how to get to a certain spot. This works 98% of the time, until I get really close and I do not know each street direction and restriction. So I had to make a few U-turns and finally get in. I was greeted by the warmest smile of the day, Marc, the hotel concierge. I was able to check-in early.. . get my bags up; he then also helped map out routes to where I wanted to go.
