Travelling - Not all it is cracked-up to be

Last week, I had to go to Waco, TX on business. This week, I am going to Chery Hill, NJ on business. In December I went to Daytona Beach, FL as well. When all is said and done, I have to say that unless you are going on a vacation, travelling is NOT fun!
Take my trip to Waco, I had to get up at 5:30am to walk my dog, finish packing, then be at our meeting point. My co-worker and I got driven to O'Hare airport by his dad who was also flying-out that morning. We checked-in, went through security, then waited 45 minutes to board. We flew over 2 hours to Dallas where we dragged our 200lbs of luggage through the rental car terminal and drove 2 hours to Waco. I then spent 3 days/2 nights in a nice hotel, but slept in a foreign bed with VERY soft pillows. Now reverse the above process and that is how we pretty much got home Saturday night where I finally got home at 9:00pm.
I realize that I only travel for work a few times a year. I see the glass as half-empty in that I do not travel every week and am only gone a couple of days when I do travel.
However, that does not mean that I like travelling any more and it certainly makes me appreciate my simple office job. Just think about all the work I had to just to go to Texas for three days.
One thing I also didn't mention is that I have to be away from my wife and 1-year old daughter when I travel. That means my wife has to up her work around the house and take care of my household chores while I am gone in addition to getting-up with our daughter and taking care of her for all three days. She accepts this as part of my job, which I appreciate. Also, my in-laws, who watch our daughter one day a week, also watch our daughter an extra day while I am gone.
Another point is that I do not have time to go and see the local tourist attractions when I travel. Our company has booths at conventions and I am responsible for helping to man it the duration of the convention. After standing for sometimes 8 hours, I am very tired at the end of the day and do not have the time nor the energy to go see any sites.
Again, I state that if I was going on vacation, all of this hassel would not be so bad. In fact, I actually prefer to drive sometimes over flying. In a couple of weeks I have to drive to Madison, WI and am looking forward to that. It is an overnight trip and I get to spend some quiet time with myself in the car while I am driving. I can put a book on tape in the stereo or just be alone with my thoughts during the 2-1/2 hour drive. Best of all I have time to pray or talk to God.
There are a couple of perks to travelling in that you can earn miles and free airline tickets if you fly a lot. Also, hotels sometimes offer free stays after you stay with them so often. These perks allow you to cut your costs when you go on vacations. If it is possible, you can see some interesting places or visit historic sites that you might not otherwise get a chance to see. This happened for me when I was in Kentucky and got to view some beautiful geography. I did not know that that state was so beautiful. After driving 3-1/2 hours, I did get to see something I was prevy to.
One last note, I did travel almost every week witha job I had about 6 years ago. I was usually gone about 2-3 days and travelled mainly to Wisconsin, until the end when my territory expanded and I travelled throughout the entire Midwest. During that time, I drove places and flew. I also put on about 15-20lbs from all of the eating-out I did. Like my father, I never looked more forward to a home-cooked meal than when I came home from a trip. Even the simple act of eating out got boring very fast.
I have a better appreciation for people who travel all the time for their jobs. My father travelled for 25 years. He estimates that he flew to Texas 200 times in his career and was in Europe over a dozen times. One good thing for him was that when it was available, he was able to spend some time seeing the sites in the evenings or weekends. He has some nice pictures he took, but it does bother him that he had to leave my mom alone to raise four children and that he could not share the tourist portion of his travels with my mom.