I've spent some time on the road lately. And in the sky. And in many airport terminals. I'm not complaining, though. In fact, I'd like to share a brief list of reasons why I enjoy getting out in the field:

Meet interesting clients

This is the primary goal of traveling. While the travel schedule can be grueling, there is no replacement for getting out and meeting clients face to face. Over the past decade there have been tremendous advances is telepresence technologies, but there's nothing like shaking a client's hand or getting to see their business process firsthand that you can replace with a video monitor. Meeting in person is a great way to establish rapport and build a relationship, and it shows the client or prospect that you are committed to the relationship. Additionally, I get to meet with different SAS teams during my travels - so it's a great way to network and interact with a variety of experts in the field that you might not normally have the opportunity to meet.

Airport time is good for catching up on blogging

I am pre-writing this as I sit in the center seat on a packed flight from Phoenix to Dallas (I hope to ultimately end up in Hartford, Connecticut - where I live - by the wee hours of the morning, and yes, it's Friday night). Since there is nothing else that I care to do at the moment, it's a great time to sit and reflect on my latest SAS journeys. Blogging is one of those activities that isn’t part of our normal jobs here, it's something that many of us do on the side. I find that it's a great way to share information and experience with the outside world. Plus, it's a great opportunity to organize your thoughts; and there are only so many hours of Bejeweled that you can play.

Meet interesting people

I'm a pretty outgoing person, so i'll strike up a conversation with just about anybody. I think that most people are interesting, and you just need to uncover what that interesting thing is. On my last trip, I got to sit next to this wonderful person who was a founder and owner of a technology firm that specialized in hardware and software for the banking industry. We had this great conversation about entrepreneurship, and building and running your own business. We swapped some good ideas and he gave me some new perspectives. Thank you, Jim, for the great conversation and I hope we get to meet again soon! Getting into the field gives you the chance to interact with people outside of your own circle or "comfort zone." I like to think that we are all a collection of experiences, and if you only surround yourself with one type of experience (or a certain kind of person), you're limiting your opportunity to learn. So say hello to the stranger in the seat next to you.

Pick up interesting souvenirs

I generally try to pick up something small from every city I visit - sometimes these things are bribes for family members left behind. Here are some things I collected from some recent journeys, including:

• Chocolates from Ghirardelli's in San Francisco
• Hockey pucks from the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto
• Broken bits of coral from the beach at Fort Lauderdale
• Miniature Mexican sombrero from Phoenix
• SAS business card holder from Cary home office

I can’t wait to see what Ohio and Iowa have to offer!

See the world through the eyes of USA Today

When you travel a lot, you spend a lot of time with people who are complete strangers, so it's important to master the art of small talk. I read a lot of news and books, because it's essential to stay knowledgeable on a broad range of topics. My favorite knowledge vehicle is the New York Times (which I can read on my iPad), but in a pinch, USA Today will suffice. I mean, it's what they leave in front of your door at the hotel anyway, so you might as well skim through it. Today, USA Today posted an article in their travel section on how to protect yourself from germs and whatnot when traveling by air - basically, the gist of it was to avoid air travel all together. You can probably guess by the tone of this post that I won't be following that advice.

Oh, well…I did finally make it home at 3am.