Useful things to do/learn in the hotel on overnights - looking for ideas

RussR

RussR

Final Approach
Joined
Jan 12, 2011
Messages
5,214
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
Display Name
Russ
Home Airfield
OKC
Like most full time pilots, I'm in hotels a lot. And I've started feeling listless in the evenings. So I'm looking for suggestions.

We are often done with our normal workday right around 4 or so. Get to the hotel by 4:30, I usually get some exercise right away, then we go to dinner. So that puts me back at the hotel usually by 7. Meaning about 3 hours to fill before I go to sleep. If I don't have anything to engage my mind, I'll end up going down the Youtube rabbit hole, or doom scrolling, for hours. That's a waste of time that I want to avoid.

- I do already read a lot. I read over a hundred books a year the last few years. Admittedly, I may be getting burnt out on that.
- I would like to improve my Spanish. That's a possibility. I know there are some good apps out there now.
- Years ago, I learned some Arduino programming and designed a few things. That was fun, and I might like to start doing that again, but I don't think it would really translate well to hotel room learning since I don't want to have to carry anything with me.
- I don't want to spend the whole night at the bar like the pilot stereotype.
- I am very goal-oriented. Meaning the more concrete the goal and steps to achieve it, the more interested I am.
- Most of my passions and hobbies at home are outdoor-activity stuff that don't translate well to hotel overnights.

I am certainly not the first person looking to fill his time on a overnight. I am looking forward to any of your experiences and suggestions. And I'm also expecting there will be some "colorful" suggestions.

If you spend a lot of nights in hotels, what do you do to pass the time?

Thanks everyone!

(And yes, I am already aware of probably the #1 thing done to pass the time when alone in hotel rooms...)
 
are you expected to write up any kind of trip report, documenting the results of the day? even if you don't send it to anyone, it can help capture some important thoughts and things you want to accomplish the next day or later

to unwind from work, learning a different language. It might be interesting to also learn Portuguese (compare and contrast with Spanish) or an entirely different language (learning Mandarin and Cantonese is probably one of the most difficult to learn for Americans)
 
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A few suggestions:
* Invent cold fusion
* Cure cancer
* Figure out peace in the Middle East
 
Whittling/wood carving is what I’d be doing if I was still lounging around hotels. A decent knife or two, a couple of pieces of basswood per trip, and maybe an apron to catch most of the shavings.
 
Hookers and blow.
 
MauleSkinner said:
When I was flying Stearmans, one of the guys had some kind of a “travel” guitar that fit in his big duffle bag.

Harmonicas are good, too…especially if you have them in your carry-on going through security.
Click to expand...

Just what every traveler wants, the guy in the next room learning to play the harmonica.
 
RussR said:
Like most full time pilots, I'm in hotels a lot. And I've started feeling listless in the evenings. So I'm looking for suggestions.

We are often done with our normal workday right around 4 or so. Get to the hotel by 4:30, I usually get some exercise right away, then we go to dinner. So that puts me back at the hotel usually by 7. Meaning about 3 hours to fill before I go to sleep. If I don't have anything to engage my mind, I'll end up going down the Youtube rabbit hole, or doom scrolling, for hours. That's a waste of time that I want to avoid.

- I do already read a lot. I read over a hundred books a year the last few years. Admittedly, I may be getting burnt out on that.
- I would like to improve my Spanish. That's a possibility. I know there are some good apps out there now.
- Years ago, I learned some Arduino programming and designed a few things. That was fun, and I might like to start doing that again, but I don't think it would really translate well to hotel room learning since I don't want to have to carry anything with me.
- I don't want to spend the whole night at the bar like the pilot stereotype.
- I am very goal-oriented. Meaning the more concrete the goal and steps to achieve it, the more interested I am.
- Most of my passions and hobbies at home are outdoor-activity stuff that don't translate well to hotel overnights.

I am certainly not the first person looking to fill his time on a overnight. I am looking forward to any of your experiences and suggestions. And I'm also expecting there will be some "colorful" suggestions.

If you spend a lot of nights in hotels, what do you do to pass the time?

Thanks everyone!

(And yes, I am already aware of probably the #1 thing done to pass the time when alone in hotel rooms...)
Click to expand...
I use that down time to read (previously covered) and catch up on emails & phone calls that I don't have time to do while I'm at home. You can also flip-flop your routine; get to your layover and go do something first, then dinner then workout (or go to bed, get up early and workout). Then when you have a bit of downtime in between, you plan your "do something" for your next layover. I've been doing that for years and it's worked out for me. I've seen all kinds of stuff - great hikes, cool parks, soviet war museums, bicycling the keukenhof gardens, pasta-making class... the world is your oyster.
 
Maybe take a college or graduate course? There used to be some decent free ones out there. University of Michigan (I think) had one on negotiation that was pretty good, and I think Coursera has some free ones.

It's easy to go down the rabbit hole on youtube, but if you put mental bumpers on it and set some goals it can be good. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere for a while a year or so ago, and decided I wanted to find some online DIY Asian cooking videos and pickup some things that I wanted to try when I got back to civilization. Videos won't give you the skills, but they can lead you to things to try later.

Believe there are some free or inexpensive circuit design/analysis tools out there, so you could design some things electronically, test them out virtually, then even design circuit boards and have them built and shipped home. Not as much fun as hookers, but cheaper and typically much quieter.

I've never worked with Arduino, but have done a couple of things with PIC controllers. Not as much fun to design them all virtually, but I think these days it's probably possible to simulate it all. Then build later.

During COVID, one of the things I picked up, sortof, that I never had the time to learn before was CAD. Just freecad, which is a little weird, but it's functional enough.
 
Yeah, online degree in something you might like at a college that may have asynchronous courses.

New languages.

MAKE YT vids instead of watching. Editing will burn a lot of time.
 
Learn Morse code. Comes in handy occasionally.
 
Definitely make sure you're getting exercise in that downtime, whether you're doing it in the morning or the evening. That by itself should take up a decent chunk of time. Every place has some areas to explore and go for walks/hikes, although some times of year you may not want to. Still every hotel should have a gym of some sort with basic equipment where you can get some workout in. That's especially important in a job with a lot of sedentary time. Even without a gym, plenty of body weight exercises (which are also important) you can do in a hotel room.

Getting to catch up or otherwise front load administrative items that take away from your home life is another good use of time. Tax season is coming up, bring your papers with you you need for that for example. Bills to pay, subscriptions/services to optimize, good uses of your time when on the road. Reality is while these things are often seasonal they're never truly "done".

Working on learning a language is a good one as well.

If I were in that situation, I would use that time to work on my YouTube channel videos (which I've basically stopped doing due to a lack of time to work on them). But, that requires having (and wanting to have) a YouTube channel.
 
I was sent to Chicago 5 times, in the WINTER, and found that walking there was much safer then, all the people I did not want to meet were holed up somewhere.
No walking with more than 20k winds, no walking with snow on the walks, and 10k wind, but a fresh blizzard before accumulation, was a strenuous couple of hours. I took warm clothes!

My last visit in May was not safe to go walking

On line college courses can be great, Maryland University has a full array of subjects. proceed at your own pace...

Others have suggested writing, and I believe you have talent there. Either technical on IFR design logic and implementation, or the adventures of traveling and staying in hotels across America.

Since you are traveling alone, yours would not be similar to mine. I traveled with wife and 2 sons. Weather decreed that we stop at a rural grass strip, took their aged Buick with very loose steering to town. Dairy Queen right across from a motel with a basket ball basket next to the office. Wife asked if they had a ball? Yes, can my son play with you? Yes! 2 on 2 game until exhausted. I rested and prepared for the next days anticipated weather. Good meal, good nights sleep, and on our way.
 
I dislike unproductive road enough that once I was done traveling for .mil TDYs, I ruled out doing the business traveller roles.

That said, while doing a bunch of ‘work’ travel, I knocked out a Master’s degree over a few years.

I also routinely used open time to complete daily admin work/trip reports/whatever so at the end of the trip, everything was done except the last day’s paperwork.

I also applied for, studied for, and prepped for the PMP credential. That one ate up close to a year, but has been the most profitable (and most used skills) credential for me in my .civ career. In the lead up to our Aviano PCS, I took the Rosetta Stone courses for Italian.

Those all supported my goals at the time.
 
If you're going to different places as opposed to the same cities over and over, I'd recommend Geocaching as a great pastime. It might sound corny but I found some awesome places as a result of geocaching and met many locals in foreign countries I otherwise would never have come into contact with. There's other variations out there, Letterboxing, WhereIGo, etc. but the concept is the same. It tends to be a daytime activity so it might require adjusting your routine.
 
RussR said:
Like most full time pilots, I'm in hotels a lot. And I've started feeling listless in the evenings. So I'm looking for suggestions.

We are often done with our normal workday right around 4 or so. Get to the hotel by 4:30, I usually get some exercise right away, then we go to dinner. So that puts me back at the hotel usually by 7. Meaning about 3 hours to fill before I go to sleep. If I don't have anything to engage my mind, I'll end up going down the Youtube rabbit hole, or doom scrolling, for hours. That's a waste of time that I want to avoid.

- I do already read a lot. I read over a hundred books a year the last few years. Admittedly, I may be getting burnt out on that.
- I would like to improve my Spanish. That's a possibility. I know there are some good apps out there now.
- Years ago, I learned some Arduino programming and designed a few things. That was fun, and I might like to start doing that again, but I don't think it would really translate well to hotel room learning since I don't want to have to carry anything with me.
- I don't want to spend the whole night at the bar like the pilot stereotype.
- I am very goal-oriented. Meaning the more concrete the goal and steps to achieve it, the more interested I am.
- Most of my passions and hobbies at home are outdoor-activity stuff that don't translate well to hotel overnights.

I am certainly not the first person looking to fill his time on a overnight. I am looking forward to any of your experiences and suggestions. And I'm also expecting there will be some "colorful" suggestions.

If you spend a lot of nights in hotels, what do you do to pass the time?

Thanks everyone!

(And yes, I am already aware of probably the #1 thing done to pass the time when alone in hotel rooms...)
Click to expand...

I'm not a full time pilot, nor do I spend that many days in hotels, but my favorite activity when I am stuck at hotels is to go on long hikes about 4 or 5 miles. I generally don't eat dinner at the hotel. I try to find a place a few miles away and walk there. It's a great way to see the local area and also get some exercise. If it is too cold or windy, I walk one-way (with wind on my back) and take a bus or Uber back.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
There's always a friends and Seinfeld marathon on.

I bring my tennis shoes and walk 5 miles at every long overnight. Even little Podunk towns have cool things to see just exploring on foot.
Click to expand...

A late night stroll down MLK Blvd in any town should be fun

NSFW, probably

 
I have a memory of a taxi driver taking me to a hotel and him telling me that when he usually takes pilots to hotels, he would soon see a posting in the personals area of Craigslist (this was before they removed that section) seeking a hookup for that night at that hotel.
 
Scrimshaw, leather working… make something that when you are old you can look back on and remember the time when you were making it? Both weigh little, take up little room, and are traditional pass times for people who have a lot of time to occupy.
Lost wax metal casting.. a table top plug in crucible metal melting furnace is both readily available now and affordable. Carve trinkets (or parts.. I’m currently working on a wheel lock ignition mechanism) out of wax or dense foam while you are away, then spend an afternoon turning them into metal when you are at home..
I suggest something to occupy your hands more than your mind, but one that still presents a challenge, it really helps (me atleast) to unwind and relax.
 
I remember reading about a guy who traveled with a Z gauge model railroad in a suitcase. Or get one of those micro "vapor" R/C planes and fly it in the hotel lobby.
 
Dana said:
I remember reading about a guy who traveled with a Z gauge model railroad in a suitcase. Or get one of those micro "vapor" R/C planes and fly it in the hotel lobby.
Click to expand...
Hanson brothers brought their slot cars with them

 
I'm enjoying reading the suggestions, thanks guys. Some comments:

- I have no desire to do anything that could be considered a "job". Like trying to make videos or monetize anything. Making money is not the goal here, personal improvement is.
- Unfortunately or fortunately, unlike many flying jobs where work hours vary widely, ours are pretty much 7:30 - 4 or 5 or so, whenever we get done. That means that a lot of tourist-type stuff (museums, etc.) are closed when I'm free.
- I definitely do get out and run/walk around town when it's warmer!
- Any reports or planning or whatever for work gets done during work hours. No need to do that on my own time.
- I do kind of like the idea of taking college courses in "something". I don't need an additional degree, so it would have to be something I'm interested in just for my personal benefit.
- I was unaware that Arduino/etc. had modeling software (it's been a while since I last did anything in that area). I'll check it out.

Lots of great suggestions, though, gives me a lot to consider. Thanks!

geezer said:
Others have suggested writing, and I believe you have talent there. Either technical on IFR design logic and implementation
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words, @geezer, that's something I have done before and may consider again. I'd have to find the right format.
 
Oh, one specific question for some of you IT type guys out there - I often see people saying "I just wrote a little script to do ...". And they mention Python or another language. And the way they apply these skills to pull together information seems useful. How hard is this stuff to learn? What would be the most useful language to perform simple tasks with? I do have some programming/coding background, nothing real recent but this is something I might be interested in.
 
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