You may wind up not going to that off-site training after all

Stolen from the Google; impossible to tell who first took it

The Story:  I was notified by another town department that there were last-minute openings in a narcan (anti-overdose drug) training taking place off-site the next day in the evening, hosted by a local rehab clinic.  I got the OK from the boss, arranged after-work home plans, and emailed back the person from the other town department.  Huzzah, I got a reply the next day that I was signed up for that night's class.  I was told it was at such-and-such church the next town over.  I google said church, get an address, and head out.  The address takes me to a church whose name on the sign out front does not match the one I was given, but I figure it's got to be the right place because the address matches.  I drive around a little first just to make sure there isn't another church right up the road (because New England is lousy with churches and it's not uncommon to find them in clusters), but this one is all there is.

I get to the aforementioned church about ten minutes early, and walk straight into the middle of an AA meeting.  Someone in the meeting knows the rehab clinic people putting on my theoretical training, and tries to call them, but to no avail.  He then directs me to another church that while its name ALSO is not technically such-and-such, it is colloquially called that, and maybe that was the church the organizers meant.  So, I drive a few miles to the other church, and walk into the middle of a Christmas pageant rehearsal.  I ask a bewildered mom if there would be another such-and-such church, and she sends me to yet a third church whose name is not that, but that is sometimes called that.  I find my way there, and stumble upon a second Christmas pageant rehearsal.  A second bewildered mom tells me the only church she knows called such-and-such is the first one that I went to.  So, I go back there, find the AA meeting letting out, and ask someone if there is another meeting going on in the church proper or anywhere else that evening.  He says no, but that the pastor is in by now and maybe he can help me.  So, he takes me downstairs to the pastor's office, who has no clue about this meeting taking place at all, and he would be the one who does all the scheduling, so he would know.

He lets me use his computer, though, to check my email in case I got some stupid detail wrong, but I didn't, and I show him the email I got and he goes, "Well, that's us, and today, and the right time, but they're not here."  After shooting an email back to the organizer, I thanked him and left, and he wished me luck, but didn't bless me, which maybe means he knew there was no saving me from the type of lost I was.  I get in my car and call my boss, give him the short version of why after an hour of driving around I'm not going to the training, and decide to head home.  My phone then dies.  It was a miracle that it survived multiple GPS trips and a phone call as it was, but perhaps the divine destinations had something to do with that.  So, I head off in the direction I HOPE the highway is, and resolve to get some fast food on the way home for mollification, foregoing a pit stop at the liquor store.  Several hours after I get home, I get an email from the town department organizer, apologizing for giving me the wrong information.  Apparently it was at such-and-such library, not such-and-such church.

The Lesson:  The devil is in the details.  Piddly little things, like addresses, or the actual names of locations, can help attendees find their way to events.  Even if it seems straight-forward and obvious, always clarify these things before setting out.

The Resources:  I used old-fashioned printed google maps directions to get to the first location the first time, because I knew my phone was likely to die from a 15-minute GPS trip (even starting out at 100% charge, which it was), and I wanted to save it for in case I got well and truly lost.  Shockingly, this got me to the first church with no major hiccups.  After that, I just used the GPS app on my phone to get me to the other locations.  It did, in fact, die before making that phone call, and I sat in my car charging it for a while until it had enough juice to call my boss, before it died again completely.  It was 20 degrees and very dark out, and I didn't want to wait for it to charge again to maybe get me home, but I was lucky I had that car-to-phone charger handy anyway.

You may find yourself acting as your own travel agent

The Story:  Huzzah!  Your library has approved your trip to ALA, and they've even agreed to pay for it.  Now, to book a plane, hotel, conference registration, and shuttle service in a city you've never been to, know nothing about, and are going to by yourself, all while trying to get the best deals.  No sweat, right?

You suddenly remember all the ads you've seen for travel websites, each claiming to be the best at getting you deals on flights, hotels, "and more!".  But who to trust?  You therefore spend hours, both at work and at home, combing every single one, debating the merits of taking a redeye or an unheard-of airline for a few dollars less, calculating the savings of booking your hotel with your flight versus with your conference registration, looking up public transportation, measuring and weighing your luggage in various arrangements, and in general, just going crazy about the whole thing.

The Lesson:  Don't sweat it.  You'll find that the same planes are flying at the same times for roughly the same prices no matter which website you book from or search from.  You'll find that no matter how carefully you read the regulations, you'll wind up paying for something unexpected (parking at the airport just a couple hours too short to get the week-long discount and instead paying for six days at full-price, for example, or finding that one airline gives you free checked baggage but is more expensive by the same amount of money it would cost to check your baggage on another, "cheaper", airline).  Always plan for at least $100 in miscellaneous expenses.  Save all your receipts and write on them what they were for, especially if it's not obvious.  If you can take advantage of flexible flights and travel in and out in the middle of the week as opposed to the weekend, you'll save probably a hundred dollars or more on your flight, but if your library can't afford to lose you for that long, be prepared for $300-$500 prices on economy-class flights anywhere within the USA.

Sometimes direct flights are actually cheaper than ones that have layovers, but other times not.  Don't sacrifice all your time and comfort for a bargain.  Three connecting flights might save you $50, but is it worth it to be traveling for an extra four hours and give the airlines three chances to lose your luggage?  Traveling out of the big-city international airport (and likely flying direct) may save you $100, but how much will it cost in gas/parking/train fare to get there as opposed to your smaller airport closer to home (and needing a connector), not to mention extra travel time and more opportunities for circumstances beyond your control to intervene and make you miss your flight?  You can book different airlines going there and going back, so don't be afraid to do some shopping around on your own on each airline's website in addition to all those travel websites, if you've got the time.  

Also, when booking your flights, don't forget to take into account what time you're actually allowed to check in at your hotel and how long it takes to get there from the airport using your transportation method of choice (rent a car? public transit? hire a shuttle?), or you may find yourself sitting in the lobby for two hours, sweaty and grumpy from travel, and desperately in need of a nap/food/shower/all of the above, or else lugging your whole entourage around the conference for half the day, or being that awkward person in pajamas with a suitcase and a travel pillow at the restaurant where you went to kill time while they got your room ready.  Suddenly that cheap early flight isn't all it's cracked up to be.  Don't forget snacks, even if they say they serve food on the plane, and bring an empty water bottle to fill after you pass security instead of paying exorbitant amounts of money for their duty-free-shop water.  Wear flip-flops to get through security faster, but pack a pair of warm socks in your carry-on for comfort on the plane.  Always pack underwear in your carry-on.  Even on a direct flight, never underestimate the ability of an airport to lose your baggage, and always have a couple extra pairs of underwear and enough clothing/toiletries for two days.  Trust me; this is not a lesson you want to learn the hard way.

The Resources:  Personally, I've had good luck with the travel websites JustFly, Google Flights, and Kayak, as well as the airlines Jet Blue, United, and Southwest.  However, I don't fly frequently enough to effectively rate every single one, and I do know that companies are constantly changing things, and new ones are coming on to the market all the time (like Skiplagged, for those who travel light), so your experiences may vary greatly from mine.  If you are going to the conference on your own dime, save money on a hotel by staying on someone's couch.  Couchsurfing is great for that, and it's pretty easy to find people anywhere on the planet willing to host someone for free.  You just have to be friendly and plan to spend some time getting to know your hosts and talking about yourself and what you're doing at the conference in return for their hospitality.  They've got a user feedback/ratings system, so you can choose only to contact potential hosts who have hosted people before with all positive feedback.  Also, don't be afraid to stay in a cheaper hotel, like Extended Stay America, which may have fewer frills, but you'll be spending all your time at the conference anyway, so what does it really matter?  If you do wind up staying in a hotel, use the app TraffickCam by ExchangeInitiative to do some good while you're traveling.  Take pictures of the room you're staying in and upload it to their database along with the hotel information.  The authorities then use these pictures to compare against the backgrounds of hotels in child and other illegal pornography, bringing them closer to finding out where these crimes are taking place and making it easier for authorities to track and bring to justice the people carrying out sex trafficking crimes.

Clear skies and happy travels, from one librarian-turned-travel-agent to another!