Well that was fun, being on the road again, for the first time (flying) since returning from the 2020 ConExpo in Las Vegas on March 15th 2020 as the Coronavirus pandemic was amping up and beginning to shut down the country. It wasn’t a perfect trip, few are, but it was nice to be out and about visiting customers and prospects mostly the same as before.
I flew from Philadelphia to Destin / Fort Walton airport on a Sunday and dealt with a weather related delay of about 90 minutes. Started out in the panhandle of Florida and worked my way through Mobile, Alabama and finished the trip in Birmingham before flying back to Philadelphia Friday night (throw in another 45 minute flight delay for good measure).
Here are some observations about the trip. Rental cars right now are OUTRAGEOUS. The rental car for a week one way was at least 3 times what I normally pay for a one week, one way rental.
I am vaccinated. There was no mandatory covid test involved in my travel, and the only mask requirement I had was in the airport and on the flight both ways. Otherwise it was a fairly normal trip. 14 customers in 5 days across 600 miles.
I had the opportunity to see one of our pumps on a dredge ready to work in a marina, and on the same day at the same marine, saw a sailboat that sunk overnight being lifted with airbags before another one of our pumps would empty the water from it.
