I haven’t taken a business trip since March 2009. That was an overnight trip to Phoenix with the CEO, to market something that looked promising but then fizzled. Before that it was July-August 2008, when Lynda and I drove to Orlando where I presented a paper at a stormwater conference. That was sort of vacation-like, as we visited relatives on the way, and had a leisurely time on the drives going and returning. Before that, I guess it was a conference in Phoenix in August 2007. That’s a long time.

This afternoon I head to Dallas, Texas to attend the annual convention of the International Erosion Control Association. I’ve never attended this convention before, but last November I put in a request to attend it, as it looked promising: lots of clients and fellow engineers, lots of technical sessions, many choices of pre-convention all-day classes. A chance to hob-nob with like-minded people. The bad part of this trip: Sara and Ephraim are coming in sometime during the week, and I’ll either miss some days with them or possibly miss them completely, depending on their schedule. I don’t much like that.

So I’ll be off in a couple of hours. I take no lap-top with me, so I don’t know what kind of access I’ll have. Previous conventions have had a courtesy Internet lounge set up, so I might have all the access I want or need. So you may hear from me during the week, or it may be Saturday. Meanwhile, I’ll be soaking up stuff that will serve CEI well for in-house training down the road, and hopefully some articles that will earn something on the side.