Trip to Colorado, Party of One - Keeping Up with Kahla

The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO

I have always wanted a job that would allow me to travel. To jet set off somewhere, company paid, requiring meetings of course. Just the sheer experience of being able to visit somewhere new with the backing of “having to go because of work” always seemed like a great concept to me. Last week, I finally got my wish.

In my new position as an Executive Assistant at Wakely, I attend a lot of meetings, take notes, and make sure that follow-ups are accounted for. These are the exact reasons why I was asked to attend our company’s Principals Retreat at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.

I’m not even going to lie to you guys, when Ben dropped me off at Tampa International Airport to fly out to Colorado, I cried. Ben and I travel a ton together, and I think in that moment was when I realized that he wasn’t coming with me on this one.

Traveling alone was a little invigorating. Sure, my plane ticket said Colorado Springs, but what if I wanted to change my flight to visit California? Nothing was stopping me; nothing, minus the fact that my boss was on the same plane as me for the trip out. She might’ve gotten a teensy bit suspicious if she didn’t see me board.

On the flipside, traveling alone was an entire trip of experiences/lessons learned. Things like:

A lot of airport and airplane snacks contain tree nuts, so I can’t eat them. Beef jerky seems to always be a safe bet though.
Opening a Sparkling Smart Water 35,000 ft. in the air may end in said water fizzing out all over your favorite pair of printed pants and book that you were reading. Hopefully not the passenger next to you though.
Traveling half way across the U.S. in a day is extremely exhausting
Packing things to do, read, and watch is extremely essential to pass the time when you’re down a travel buddy
Small planes aren’t so bad. Minus the entire walk up to them and you realizing how tiny they are. Oh, take-off and landing aren’t so fun either. Everything in between in the air is jussssst fine.
Preview the movies that you downloaded the night before. Some may be in English and have Chinese subtitles on them. Or ya, know be completely in Chinese.
Turbulence drink sales are a real thing (AKA free vodka clubs!, shout out to American Airlines)
Dallas’s airport is insanely huge. I swear we drove our plane on a highway over another highway with cars to get to the gate for off-boarding (can any Dallas-ites confirm that these plane highways exist?)
And lastly, I am capable of doing it. 1-Stoppers, a Skyline tram to get to a gate, cramming dinner in before boarding for a flight, and all. No flights missed, and I’m happily back home in Florida.