I'm mostly CMH-MCI so I travel on Mon, in office Tu, Wed, Th, and fly home Fri.
When I used to global hop, I was childless and single. I'd often fly out on a weekend so I could explore the locale a little. But many of my trips were 2-3 weeks long, so I didn't mind. I never worried about taking a day off here and there and not putting in for it since my manager knew I worked /traveled on non-work hours