Omaha. Somewhere in the Middle of America: The Business Travel Thread

[Donuthole]

We've got a bunch of travel-related threads for destinations people want to visit. This thread is for those destinations we probably wouldn't ever visit if it weren't for work.

On that note, I'm an emergency fill-in for a deposition taking place in Jacksonville, Florida. My co-worker is sick and won't be able to travel, and the deposition can't be postponed because the deponent is being deployed to Iraq next week. Can anyone recommend a great place to eat in Jacksonville? I'm meeting Tim Tebow for lunch on Friday, but I'll need somewhere decent to eat dinner Thursday night.

[TripletDaddy]

terrible places (any combo of dumpy, ugly, high crime, nothing to do, horrible food, etc) I've visited (staying multiple days, not just in town for one meeting and leaving) for work:

Pascagoula, Mississippi
Saginaw, Michigan
Terre Haute, Indiana
South Bend, Indiana
Vidor, Texas


There are probably more but these places come to top of mind when putting together a list of places that were not only awful but had very little to any redeeming value for visitors. There are lots of small towns and cities across the country that may be boring to visit, but are beautiful or have some sort of geographical or historical appeal. The towns I listed above I found to be not only ugly but noteworthy for all the wrong reasons. Interestingly enough, there are neighborhoods not far from the Detroit area that are actually beautiful and wealthy. Very interesting juxtaposition when considering Detroit's overall depressed and horrific state.

[mtnbiker]

Wells, Nevada, comes to mind. I got a late start driving to the Bay area with my kids, and tried to find a motel along the way in Wells. All hotels there were booked for a car show, and it was dark and nothing but scary-looking people were out.

We continued on to Elko and, surprisingly, had a very good experience. A Comfort Inn or similar motel was just opening that night and as we were one of their first guests, we got a very nice rate and the rooms were the cleanest they'd ever be. The one glitch was that the swimming pool water was still pretty cold and had about 3 times the chlorine that it needed, but one daughter braved it for a while.

[Donuthole]

Wells, Nevada, comes to mind. I got a late start driving to the Bay area with my kids, and tried to find a motel along the way in Wells. All hotels there were booked for a car show, and it was dark and nothing but scary-looking people were out.

We continued on to Elko and, surprisingly, had a very good experience. A Comfort Inn or similar motel was just opening that night and as we were one of their first guests, we got a very nice rate and the rooms were the cleanest they'd ever be. The one glitch was that the swimming pool water was still pretty cold and had about 3 times the chlorine that it needed, but one daughter braved it for a while.

This is the business travel thread. That did not sound like business travel. But, since you mention Wells, i'll bring it full circle. I had to attend an accident inspection near Wells, NV a couple years back. Freezing cold, and my expert had to spend an entire day outside inspecting an accident site and a second day outside inspecting a demolished tow truck (super gory accident--3 dead, 2 others severely injured). I pretty much sat in the car for 2 days and watched movies on my laptop. We also stayed in Elko, at a brand new extended-stay Marriott.

[smokymountainrain]

Burley, ID.
Tacoma, Wa.
Barstow, CA.
Waukegan, Ill.

[Surfah]

Union City, New Jersey
Gainesville, FL
Huntington, WV

[mtnbiker]

This is the business travel thread. That did not sound like business travel.

Yeah, but at least I gave an explanation, unlike others, to explain the poor rating. Although Barstow probably needs no further explanation.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Redding, CA Oddly, the biggest deal I ever did (the sale of a huge lumber company, including thousands of acres of land, for nearly a billion bucks)

Stockton, CA As a new associate, I helped set up an emergency loan for $10MM to an S&L. We had to deliver negotiable bearer notes for that amount (meaning that anyone who had them could sell them), and neither Brinks, Wells nor any other armored transport service would take them. As the low man on the totem pole, I got to drive them to beautiful Stockton in my Plymouth Champ (), and only after the partner told me he trusted that I'd wouldn't go rogue.

East Brunswick, NJ eh

[hostile]

Yeah, but at least I gave an explanation, unlike others, to explain the poor rating. Although Barstow probably needs no further explanation.

My uncle used to be the police chief in Barstow.

[clackamascoug]

Redding, CA Oddly, the biggest deal I ever did (the sale of a huge lumber company, including thousands of acres of land, for nearly a billion bucks)

Stockton, CA As a new associate, I helped set up an emergency loan for $10MM to an S&L. We had to deliver negotiable bearer notes for that amount (meaning that anyone who had them could sell them), and neither Brinks, Wells nor any other armored transport service would take them. As the low man on the totem pole, I got to drive them to beautiful Stockton in my Plymouth Champ (), and only after the partner told me he trusted that I'd wouldn't go rogue.

East Brunswick, NJ eh

The Campbell Deal? I remember reading about that.

Klamath Falls Oregon. (Specifically the Econolodge room 27.)
Mesquite, NV.
Pendleton, OR - The Let "R Buck Motel room 9. It had a very active ant trail along side the wall.
Phoenix, AZ - Heard gunshots and 6 cops cars showed up to the motel.

When you own your own business, and pay for your own room, it's amazing what you can endure for 12 hours to save $30 bucks. Out of the past 20 years, I've spent 3 years on the road, and have stayed in some fabulous places, and some that I needed a shower after I got out of the shower.

[wuapinmon]

Philadelphia, PA....a filthy city full of rude people and so cold that I could only venture outside for about 15 mins at a time before seeking shelter. Oh, and I make better cheesesteaks.

Mesa, AZ.....100F in early April.

Van Horn, TX....hot, dirty, and the Ramada got a 72 on their breakfast health inspection.

San José, Costa Rica.....a filthy city full of thieves.

Cancún, México......Myrtle Beach with poor public sanitation.

Conway, AR........it's ugly in the Spring---how can a place be ugly in the Spring? Aside from Hendrix College, no, gracias.

[mtnbiker]

My uncle used to be the police chief in Barstow.

Are you bragging, or complaining? Anyway, it was SMR, not me, that first mentioned Barstow.

Mesa, AZ.....100F in early April.

Yeah, it gets hot, but it's definitely worth visiting to me; we have kids and grandkids there. But I suppose Donut will chime in and say something about my post being inappropriate for this thread again.

[CJF]

Indiana, PA. Home of Jimmy Stewart and nothing else.
Beckley, WV. A good sized WV town, but very little there.
Elkins, WV is worse than Indiana, PA and no Jimmy Stewart claim to fame.
Cedar Rapids, IA. Decent town with surprisingly good food options but there is no way I would ever go there without work requiring it.
Staten Island. Very underwhelming.
Newark and Trenton. I really dig most of NJ. Newark, Orange and Trenton suck.
Philly. Outside of about a three block radius of downtown historical sites, I hate pretty much everything about this city. I hate going there.
Waco, TX. Awful.
Hampton, VA. Nothing wrong with Hampton but I would never go there if it wasn't needed.
Manila. I've never once heard of someone taking a vacation to Manila. Even Filipinos from Manila usually don't want to go back after they get away. There are some incredible beaches and diving areas in the Philippines, but Manila blows.
India. Pretty much the entire country of India.

And then there cities you're happy to go to, but the work area is not good. Areas you probably wouldn't be caught dead in. Like the bad parts of K-town in LA, Cairo, Cape Town, Orlando, Brooklyn, Chicago, Buenos Aires, Kingston.

[MarkGrace]

Spokane

[Donuthole]

Lots of bummed Auburn fans on my early flight to ATL. I'm half tempted to start an SEC chant.