Itchy Travel Feet

In the month of May, I frequently get itchy travel feet. It’s ironic, really. All my life, I’ve been dragged from one place to another moved around. We never lived in one place for longer than four years until high school, when my father went to his military assignment early and let me finish in order to graduate. More than anything, I wanted an answer to the question, “Where’s your home town?” For the longest time, I would shake my head and respond, “When?” I’ve lived in Thailand, Georgia, Maine, Germany, England, Virginia, Indiana, back to Germany, and back to Virginia again.

When I married my husband, I prayed we would settle down and I’d finally have a home town. I do, here in Yorktown. But strangely enough, the longer I’ve lived here, the more I want to travel. As I’ve grown, I find it exciting to go to new places.

One of my part time jobs is a hotel mystery shopper. I pretend to be a guest and evaluate the staff. Through that job, I have the luxury of picking and choosing where I want to travel. Lately, I’ve signed up to go to a few places (though they haven’t told me whether I’ll get the assignments or not). It’s exciting, even going somewhere for a day. My favorite assignment was a resort in San Destin, Florida, for a week (where I had to go play golf and get a massage).:hissyfit: Oh, the suffering. Another favorite was the Marriott hotel in Amsterdam, Netherlands. We used that one to help pay my airfare overseas where the hubby and I enjoyed a second honeymoon.

The downside of mystery shopping? You will never again eat dinner in a restaurant without being conscious of how often the staff come to your table. You’ll wait for them to come back at particular intervals, and you’ll be aware of when something’s gone wrong. But the best side to “shopping” a hotel is knowing how everything works. If you need an extra coffee packet in the morning–you know you can call Housekeeping. Or if your door doesn’t lock properly, you call Maintenance. And the best part is, you get to visit new places and perhaps meet up with friends along the way. It’s exciting. This is the company I work for. You can also sign up to evaluate grocery stores, banks, bowling alleys–it’s really fun. I don’t think you could do it full time as a career. You only make a limited fee. But for some folks, it’s perfect. My mom can take my dad out for breakfast and someone else pays for it. What’s not to like?

I’m getting excited about Atlanta for the National Romance Writer’s Conference. I can’t wait to meet up with other writing buddies as well as grovel before meet editors and agents. I may have to go shopping for some conference clothes. Fun, fun.

So what’s the coolest job you’ve ever had? What did you like best about it?