On a clear day, you can SEA forever

As what's expected to be the busiest travel summer since 2000 gets underway, I am reminded that I travel. A lot.

It's part of my current position and, quite frankly, also came with the territory of being a consultant for a dozen years: The people you need to see are never where you are. Consider it a corollary of the rule that an expert is someone more than 50 miles from home. (As an aside, I rarely had clients in the Seattle area. As a result, I was mostly known here for being an analyst and media commentator.)

Last September, I hosted the WSA Investment Forum and gave some brief lessons learned by a very frequent traveler. Since then, I've outdone myself by simultaneously making Platinum Elite on Northwest Airlines, SPG Platinum at Starwood hotels, and maintaining a decade of MVP Gold status on Alaska Airlines.

So it seems time to update my earlier, nearly two-year-old advice to newbie frequent travelers:

• Wear new socks. Before leaving the house, Mom always advised clean underwear. These days, the TSA may well advise clean socks. With more airports requesting shoeless security checks, who'd have thought Gold Toe would be the height of traveler fashion statements? (But only if you don't pair them with sandals.)
• Hear nothing. Once onboard, have noise-canceling headphones for iPods or movies. Not the Bose -- their ear-surrounding bulk isn't comfortable with glasses. I favor the Sennheiser PXC 250, a model that sits on top of (not around) the ear. They even make the screaming babies clearer.
• Pack your own coffee. Most hotels with in-room coffee makers seem to favor Folger's or some hotel-only brand more appropriate for acid washing jeans. Instead, find Starbucks four-cup filter packs online. For around $100 at American Coffee Services, you'll have enough for 120 nights (and mornings) of travel. As to storing those 120 filter packs before you travel -- well, pick the wrong place without checking with others at home, and they could be grounds for an argument.
• Exercise everywhere. On the road, working out is what keeps me sane as well as fit. My favorite shoe is the Nike Free. It is extremely light and nearly flat when packed. And it neatly complements my "Sleep Sucks" workout shirt.
• Bond with others. While some of its participants can be a bit on the obsessive side, FlyerTalk is the best place I've found for knowledgeable discussion and tips about what's happening with airlines and hotels. Look for me there as, appropriately, Seattlenerd.

Overall, the best advice I have for fellow frequent travelers is to maintain some normalcy on the road. I'm marking two-and-a-half years of nearly weekly travel. It's the familiar coffee, exercise, and catching favorite TV shows my wife and I usually watch together (even if I'm watching it on Frank Standard Time) that make business travel tolerable. It's your life. Might as well take it with you.