0 Dark 30 to Number 49: 5 Things
This morning we got up early- zero dark thirty being, in this case, 4:30am- to shuffle off to the airport. We're on a 7am flight to Las Vegas connecting on to Birmingham, Alabama.
1. Why Alabama? Would you believe, "because it's there"? Alabama is one of the few states I haven't been to yet. One of my bucket list items is to visit all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Like I noted last month, I've been to 48/51 so far. In fact that's basically when I started planning this trip.
2. Land, then leave? It might be enough for some people's bucket lists to touch down in the state and then leave. That's especially tempting with Alabama as it doesn't enjoy a great reputation as a place for leisure travel. "Yeah, we're going to the armpit of America," I joked with colleagues a week ago. "I wouldn't call it an armpit," one colleague countered. "It's more like the asshole of America."
Well, neither assholes nor armpits seem like great places to visit, but I am determined to actually see and do things in every state, not just tap a foot in them and jet off. For this trip we've planned a few days of sightseeing at some waterfalls in the Appalachians and cultural landmarks in Birmingham.
We'll land in Birmingham this afternoon, rent a car, and drive 2 hours to Chattanooga where we'll spend tonight and tomorrow night. Wait, Chattanooga is in Tennessee, isn't that basically "land, then leave"? No, because we'll come back. We'll do sightseeing in Chattanooga and in Georgia (our route clips through the remote northwestern corner of Georgia between Alabama and Tennessee) as we head back into Alabama for the last few days of this trip.
3. Then to Virginia. We decided that since Alabama is most of the way to the East Coast we would tack on a trip to the East Coast and make a full week out of it. Thursday and Friday I'll be working from the hotel. I can work from anywhere with a quiet enough environment and a decent network connection. In the evenings and on Saturday I'll spend time with my relatives. I haven't seen them since my father passed away in March.
4. Who's in the hospital this time? Ha, ha. Very funny. Just because I'm going to Virginia you think someone's in (or about to need a visit to) the hospital, like has happened the past, oh I don't know, six times I've traveled to Virginia. I'll have you know that nobody will be in the hospital. At least, they shouldn't still be in the hospital. Hawk's brother is there right now but is supposed to be sent home today. [Edit: this paragraph turns out to be richly ironic given what happens 4 days later.]
5. What about tha TSA mess? With all stories in the news about security screening becoming a complete clusterfuck during the "busy summer travel season" we were a bit concernd about how much of a mess it'd be. It turned out to be more about security theater than anything else. Moreover, I'm cynical about all the terrible lines in the news being a self-made phenomenon. It's a well known practice in government agencies that the way to get more budget is to cut or delay a program that causes outrage amongst average people, who then clamor for Congress to raise spending so that the agency can "restore" what it cut. It's gaming of the system and, sadly, it works.
1. Why Alabama? Would you believe, "because it's there"? Alabama is one of the few states I haven't been to yet. One of my bucket list items is to visit all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Like I noted last month, I've been to 48/51 so far. In fact that's basically when I started planning this trip.
2. Land, then leave? It might be enough for some people's bucket lists to touch down in the state and then leave. That's especially tempting with Alabama as it doesn't enjoy a great reputation as a place for leisure travel. "Yeah, we're going to the armpit of America," I joked with colleagues a week ago. "I wouldn't call it an armpit," one colleague countered. "It's more like the asshole of America."
Well, neither assholes nor armpits seem like great places to visit, but I am determined to actually see and do things in every state, not just tap a foot in them and jet off. For this trip we've planned a few days of sightseeing at some waterfalls in the Appalachians and cultural landmarks in Birmingham.
We'll land in Birmingham this afternoon, rent a car, and drive 2 hours to Chattanooga where we'll spend tonight and tomorrow night. Wait, Chattanooga is in Tennessee, isn't that basically "land, then leave"? No, because we'll come back. We'll do sightseeing in Chattanooga and in Georgia (our route clips through the remote northwestern corner of Georgia between Alabama and Tennessee) as we head back into Alabama for the last few days of this trip.
3. Then to Virginia. We decided that since Alabama is most of the way to the East Coast we would tack on a trip to the East Coast and make a full week out of it. Thursday and Friday I'll be working from the hotel. I can work from anywhere with a quiet enough environment and a decent network connection. In the evenings and on Saturday I'll spend time with my relatives. I haven't seen them since my father passed away in March.
4. Who's in the hospital this time? Ha, ha. Very funny. Just because I'm going to Virginia you think someone's in (or about to need a visit to) the hospital, like has happened the past, oh I don't know, six times I've traveled to Virginia. I'll have you know that nobody will be in the hospital. At least, they shouldn't still be in the hospital. Hawk's brother is there right now but is supposed to be sent home today. [Edit: this paragraph turns out to be richly ironic given what happens 4 days later.]
5. What about tha TSA mess? With all stories in the news about security screening becoming a complete clusterfuck during the "busy summer travel season" we were a bit concernd about how much of a mess it'd be. It turned out to be more about security theater than anything else. Moreover, I'm cynical about all the terrible lines in the news being a self-made phenomenon. It's a well known practice in government agencies that the way to get more budget is to cut or delay a program that causes outrage amongst average people, who then clamor for Congress to raise spending so that the agency can "restore" what it cut. It's gaming of the system and, sadly, it works.