Going to the REW Conference All By Myself

I didn't start flying until I was around 45.  I took my first Valium ever for the flight and couldn't sleep well for weeks prior to the trip.  But it was a trip to Cancun as a Christmas present that I just couldn't turn down.  I am claustrophobic plus I just can't understand how planes can actually fly.  I won't scare myself too much with my other thoughts and feelings about flying so I'll stop here.

On my first flight we sat in the first seats as I thought I'd need the leg room (I'm 5'3" - I guess I thought it would offer a more open feeling although I've never sat there since).  I was eyeing the door and kept telling myself not to bolt.  I took deep breaths and the Valium started kicking in.  It was a very smooth flight with the exception of banging my head on the overhead video.  It didn't hurt but the thud was loud.  I even won a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt by winning a little trivia contest the crew held .

However, the landing back in Chicago was in 55 mph winds.  My fingers were digging in my boyfriend's leg as we bounced around.  No one was screaming so I kept quiet.  When we stopped my boyfriend told me he was so proud of me because that was the worst landing he ever experienced.

I think my second flight was with a group of friends.  I took half a Valium.  We gabbed and had fun which made the flight to Florida and back home not very memorable.  In fact, the only thought I have on that flight was the image of my friend (now my real estate partner), grasping a book tightly and pretending to read it as we took off.  She doesn't like to fly either.

My husband took me on my first visit to my parents who had lived in Mesa, AZ for many years.  I had never been there to visit and I had no interest in Arizona.  I fell in love with it and will be a snowbird there in the future - the only positive thing I can think of with being a senior citizen (besides the discounts).

I have taken my granddaughter to visit California since she was two (where the rest of my family lives and Mom moved there a few years ago to be closer to my brothers).  Having her with me gave me the most peaceful flights.  I guess it's because I am her main caretaker and I figure if we both go then I don't have to worry about her and what will happen to her if something happens to me.  She has no fear of flying.  My son and his family went with us last year and my 4 year old grandson said he was afraid when I asked him how he liked being in an airplane.  I figured he'd love it and was surprised by his admission. 

As a youngster I took annual trips to Florida with my parents and we always drove.  I still have many happy memories of those long car rides and the cars were nice and roomy.  We never flew.

This will be my first trip traveling alone

I've always flown with someone, even if it was just my granddaughter.  I'm not afraid of flying by myself any more than flying with someone else.  The flight wasn't really the problem getting to Nanaimo.  It was just the whole thing.  Sure, we're going to be networking at REW Headquarters and Morgan and his group have things planned after the seminar.

But there were other logistics such as staying alone in a hotel.  I'm not scared, it was just weird.  What really gave me second thoughts was landing in Seattle and having to get to Nanaimo.  I was up until 2:00 a.m. trying to figure that one out and still didn't have an answer.

Dennis Pease called me to see if I was going and told me to rent a car in Seattle and drive to the ferry and then drive to Nanaimo.  He made it sound doable and he is the person that pushed me into going, even though I really wanted to attend.  But Google directions showed it as more than a 5 hour trip and I swear it mentioned I'd have to take two different ferries.  Plus, the ferries don't launch as often in September.  I was overwhelmed.

So I reached out to REW members and ended up partnering with Michael Brown (Coastal).  We will meet in Seattle and take The Clipper to Victoria where we will rent a car and drive to Nanaimo.  I already have my room booked at the Ramada Inn and I think Michael will be staying there too since we're sharing the rental car.

Prior to finalizing things with Michael, Brian McReynolds (Brian Mc) read my forum post asking for help and called me.  He invited me to join him and his wife, MaryAnn as they were also flying into Seattle and were taking the Clipper ferry to Victoria and they would have a rental car waiting for them.  So Brian helped me make my decision of how to get from Seattle to Nanaimo and that was taking The Clipper.

I'm still trying to figure The Clipper out.  It's a 3 hour ride which makes it seem like we'll be surrounded by just ocean most of the way.  I've only been on one cruise and it was an Alaskan inner passage cruise where there was land on both sides of our ship.  So I'm kind of excited (and a little apprehensive) about this 3 hour "high speed" ferry ride.

I'm still working on having a rental car waiting for us and have to make a couple calls today to wrap that up.  I have a friend at Enterprise that can get us a deal but the ferry arrives after it closes so that won't work.  I called The Clipper and they mentioned Budget so that's on my to-do list today and then I've got all my reservations in.

All in all, this will be a very interesting and challenging trip but I'm getting more excited now and less nervous.  And I'm so happy with the networking that is already occurring and how helpful everyone has been.

It seems like every time I'm away on a trip one of my listings sells.  Hopefully, that will happen next week.  In fact, I went on a Girl's Weekend Away to Indiana last weekend and had a contract waiting for me when I got home.  Got another offer from a different buyer the next day and had a bidding war going on.  The home sold close to asking price. 

Let's see, 4 days and 10 lbs. to lose!  For anyone else attending the conference, I'll see you there!

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