I’ve had several people ask what I do that I get to travel & I’ve never really addressed the issue in much detail. Trying to remain somewhat private, I’ll be a bit vague on the details that take me to the side of the road frequently. I am mechanical engineer by degree & I investigate car crashes for litigation related purposes. Above, I am soaking up the sun & mountains in 29 Palms, California.
I fly around the country examining and measuring both the wrecked vehicles and the roadways where the crashes occurred. A few weeks ago, I had the udder pleasure of mooo-ving along MO-00 in Missouri on my way to a job site.
As part of my travels, I like to get out and run in the towns I visit. It’s a great way to see things at a slower pace & check out neighborhoods more off the beaten path. It feels so good to stretch my legs after sitting in cars and planes for hours while getting some fresh air & usually enjoying cooler weather than Houston. This was a glorious sunrise over the desert mountains from a cool morning run.
No worries- I wasn’t driving as I took this photo, but I have so many more photos now that my iPhone goes with me everywhere and takes pretty decent little photos. I do often take my ~BIG~ camera if I’m flying somewhere pretty or taking some scenic drives, but many of my photos these days on the road are with my cell phone.
Like this beauty, as I drove from Atlanta to Birmingham a few weeks ago as the sunset & I was visiting with my boss covering the miles.
Something about working on the side of a highway with 18-wheelers flying by just a few yards from me makes me really appreciate when I can go for a jog on a quiet scenic road with gently rolling hills & beautiful landscaping. I know that’s not a whole lot about my actual job, but I do lots of math, physics, Excel spreadsheets, AutoCAD drawings and a few fancy programs to figure out how fast cars are going before the crash, how many times they rolled over, and all sorts of related issues. Right now the travel for work is optimal- just enough, not too much, plenty of frequent flyer miles and hotel points to indulge my personal travels.
GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Finished my last long training run before Nashville; 20 miles on a misty morning with friends.
that sounds like a really interesting job! A Crash Detective!