Baltimoremick.com

I am writing this post from my hotel room in downtown Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  I am here visiting some peers to get a better idea of one part of my position, but to also get to know my peer and immediate supervisor.  I also have gotten to meet some of the other people who work out of the office her for my new company.  There have been some good and bad parts of my stay out here, as is always the case when one travels. 

The Good

• The weather has been pretty outstanding, actually, with temperatures in the upper-70s to low-80s. 
• My flight in was pretty uneventful, and my flights departed and arrived on-time. 
• With my dinners, I have been able to enjoy some good beer that I cannot find in Baltimore.  My friend Kyle introduced me to Bell’s Brewery some time ago, but you just cannot find the beer at all in Baltimore.  Well, I have been able to enjoy their seasonal, Oberon Ale, and IPA variation, Two Hearted Ale.  I have to admit I like the Oberon a bit more. 
• I have been able to get some workouts in, and I have been able to eat somewhat healthily. 
• The office has provided me a nice Internet connection. 

The Bad

• Downtown Eau Claire leaves much to be desired.  There are some small restaurants and bars to enjoy, but there is not much in the way of the typical trappings of an urban center.  I have been unable to find a coffee house to get my morning caffeine fix, and there is no nearby drug store to grab anything I might have forgotten or may need during my stay.  As my friend Jim who works at the University of Wisconsin said, “enjoy small town usa.”  That’s a good way to describe it. 
• My hotel, the Ramada Convention Center Eau Claire, leaves something to be desired.  The hotel is obviously dated, and my initial room assignment had some issues with Internet connectivty.  I could not connect to any wireless signal.  Kudos to the front desk staff, as they gladly gave me a room somewhere where the wireless signal was so much better.  In this case, the bad was outweighed by the good. 
• The fitness room in my hotel left much to be desired.  I went there on my first day after I checked in, and I was met with one old treadmill, a very old bike, and an even older climber.  My warning signs that this is a bad idea should have been the lack of towels in the fitness room and the sign posted near the door that mentioned that 4 times around the hotel block was equivalent to 1 mile. 
• Even though the weather has been fantastic, the bugs have been out in force.  My attempt to run outside this afternoon was met with an interesting result: lots of bugs in my face.  I felt like a windshield trying to run. 
• This is one of the times I wish I had actually rented a car.  I decided not to given that I had not been out here, and I did not expect this place to be that tiny.