Trip - Day 2

July 14, 2017

After spending the night in Ft. Collins, Colorado, we picked up route 287 to go to Laramie https://www.cityoflaramie.org/, then Lander, and eventually to Riverton http://www.rivertonwy.gov/ Wyoming.

The traffic signs in Wyoming and Colorado are frustrating.  There is not much notice coming up on a turn, so it is hard to slow down and decide what to do.  And, unlike in Texas, after the turn, there is not another sign assuring the driver of where he or she is going.  So, we came upon an intersection that had 5 choices, including the road we were on.  I wanted to go straight, my traveling companion said left, and we tried both without success, but discovered we just needed to reverse our direction, and we were on our way. While this cost us probably 20 minutes we were able to see a beautiful part of Fort Collins that we would not otherwise have seen, including Colorado State University https://www.colostate.edu/.  

We did well after that, getting to Laramie , Wyoming about lunch time.  We ate at Penny’s Diner,

which was really an old timey Airstream diner with booths, counters and tables. The cook was a genius in motion, with no apparent unnecessary actions.  It was a joy to watch.

We drove to Lander, Wyoming http://landerwyoming.org/, again mostly seeing antelope mixed in with the livestock.  I started picking them out better.

At Lander, we took a brief tour of the Museum of the American West http://museumoftheamericanwest.com/, which was a mixture of old, very small houses, and other buildings. It was fun.  The person manning the office was a Job Corp attendee stationed out of Riverton, Wyoming.  We moved on to Riverton, where we stayed for the night. We found an interesting Mexican food restaurant, The Depot.  We had a good time. We learned there was a classic car parade and show that weekend, and a street dance that night.  But we did not attend.

I screwed up.  I let my traveling companion use my computer to try to sign onto her Hotmail account, and she could not do it.  I yelled at her, because I was giving her instructions, and I thought she was ignoring them. She became upset and decided she did not need to check her email.  I do not blame her; no one needs to be yelled at.  I apologized, and we were better. 

We stayed in a small Super 8.  It was adequate for our needs. However, late in the evening, someone walked into our room. Partly our fault: we did not lock the deadbolt and put the chain on.  We screamed, and that person left.  We tried to call the management but the phone was not working.  My traveling companion called the desk on her cell phone. The manager on duty said the intruder was an employee, and the manager would come up to fix the phone.  He explained that the system was down, and he sent an employee to check room status, but with instructions to knock loudly before entering. He assured us we were okay, and he fixed the phone. It did not feel great.

Trip - Day 1

July 13, 2017

We drove uneventfully to Raton, New Mexico http://www.ratonnm.gov/, my traveling companion doing the driving.  At Raton, I took over the driving.  Although my traveling companion owns an SUV, the dashboard and feel of the pedals was very different from my SUV.  I drove immediately into the Raton Pass https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/american_latino_heritage/Raton_Pass.html, hilly, curvy, fast and windy.  And I drove into a storm: wind, heavy rain, pea sized hail, thunder and lightning.  I drove slowly, and sometimes the visibility was poor, but we continued going, unlike many drivers who pulled over, sometimes not totally off the road.

Then we got to Colorado Springs https://coloradosprings.gov/.  And we got into heavy traffic.  We faced heavy traffic from then on, into and beyond Denver https://www.denvergov.org/content/denvergov/en.html.  I was in the left most lane when I saw the sign for the by-pass around Denver, but could not cross the four lanes to get to the exit.

When we arrived at our destination in Fort Collins, Colorado https://www.fcgov.com/visitor/, I was looking down the street at a McDonald’s and almost drove down a bank! My traveling companion alerted me in time to save the day!

We are both tired. We bought fast food take out before we registered at the hotel, and broke out a bottle of wine for a night cap. 

My traveling companion found a TV channel that was binge broadcasting Blue Bloods http://www.cbs.com/shows/blue_bloods/  Makes me feel good to watch something comfortable.

My sharp eyed traveling companion saw antelope on the roadside, and pointed them out to me, even when she was doing the driving.

Packing

July 12, 2017

Well, a traveling companion and I are preparing for a trip to Yellowstone National Park https://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm.  We had actually planned to go in 2016, but when my traveling companion tried to make reservations for accommodations, none in our price range were available. So, we delayed our trip by a year. And, here we are.

Early in the week, I started actively gathering the items I was planning to pack. I waited because packing upsets the kitties.  Monday and Tuesday of the week of July 10, I actually pulled out my luggage, and started organizing and packing items.  The kitties sat on my suitcases, scratched at my stuff and in general let me know they were not happy. But as the days progressed, and I was still at home, they settled down.

Today, my traveling companion came to the house, and had her items packed in her vehicle, except her last minute overnight bag. We both agreed we were going to do overnight bags that would have what we needed while we were on the road to the Yellowstone, and then, have items we needed when we arrived at Yellowstone.  We packed the cooler and my items. Everything seemed to fit as we had anticipated.  This is good.

I think my kitties are still a little on edge, because they are not sure what to expect with me being around, but packing things that mean I am leaving. I can hardly blame them.  In the last few years, my packing and returning has not had a regular pattern. 

I hope, while I am gone, my kitties adjust well. I have a wonderful cat sitter, who goes the extra mile.  I have complete confidence in her.  That is so reassuring to know someone will do what is needed, without having to ask for consent or permission, if my cats need extra care while I am gone. And of course, I will remunerate her accordingly, no questions asked.

A Nice Trip to Albuquerque

A friend and I went to Albuquerque for a quick Labor Day weekend trip. It was a nice trip. We had lunch at http://www.clinescorners.com/index.html.  It was a good, greasy spoon diner lunch. Yummm.

We stayed at the Nativo Lodge http://www.nativolodge.com/.  It was on the one hand, just another hotel. On the other hand, it was decorated with Native American art, had a beautiful lobby, and staff who were dedicated to ensuring the guests were well tended to. It was a nice place to stay, and not inconvenient to the museums and activities we planned to attend. And the price was right.

We went to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center http://www.indianpueblo.org/.  This was an amazing experience that explained about the Pueblo Culture, the interference of the Anglo Culture, and how the Pueblos are working to reclaim their culture. This was really fascinating to me.

We went to Old Town http://www.visitalbuquerque.org/travel-tools/neighborhoods/historic-old-town/, and went shopping and had dinner at the Church Street Café https://www.churchstreetcafe.com/. The food was good. 

We also went to the Biopark Zoo, Aquarium, and took the train rides through the Botanical Gardens http://www.cabq.gov/culturalservices/biopark.  This was an all day event, and was so interesting and enjoyable.

It was a good weekend trip. My travel companion was easy to be with. The activities were great.  It was a nice Labor Day Weekend trip.

Sports

This is a Texas Tech http://www.texastech.com/gameday/ sports day.  This afternoon, the Texas Tech Red Raiders are playing basketball against Richmond.  The Red Raiders are winning but there is still plenty of time in the second half.   I wonder when Richmond came into town.  Travel has been bad, and there are a few spectators at the game, but travel in Lubbock is still very dangerous due to the winter storm we have experienced.

Later tonight the Texas Tech Red Raiders football team will be playing against Louisiana State University http://www.lsu.edu/ in the Advocare VI00 Texas Bowl http://www.advocaretexasbowl.com/. 

Tomorrow night, the Texas Tech Lady Raiders will play TCU http://www.tcu.edu/ which is a Big 12 Conference Game http://www.big12sports.com/.   I doubt I will go.  The weather has been bad, and unless tomorrow really warms up and the snow and ice melts off the streets in a big way, it will more treacherous driving than I want to do.  But, I will watch the game on TV.  I wonder how TCU will get into Lubbock, with travel being as spotty as it has been because of the snow storm that hit Texas this week.  Hmm.

"A Walk in the Woods" A Movie

Some years ago, I read A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson http://www.billbryson.co.uk/index.php/books/. The reason I read it was because I read an article in the newspaper about Robert Redford making it into a movie. The book sounded good. I did not know about it before then.  The movie came out this month, and I went to see it http://www.walkinthewoodsmovie.com/. It was an okay movie, it was very funny, and only partly accurate with the book.  But it got several messages across.

I have read several of Bill Bryson's books, and plan to read more. If any of them are made into movies, I will go to see them.

Customer Service

I have returned from my vacation out of town, but still have the rest of the week off. I had two dr. appointments last week, and this week I will go to PT 3 times.  That does not seem like much of a vacation, does it?  But not going to work is nice.

I stayed at the Quality Inn in Greenfield, Ma., http://www.qualityinn.com/hotel-greenfield-massachusetts-MA186#listpos1. I knew the pool was unavailable, but I am not much of a fan of chlorinated pools.  The room was adequate.  There was cable TV, minus ESPN http://espn.go.com/  and The Weather Channel http://www.weather.com/, but there was NESN http://nesn.com/, so I got to watch the Red Sox games (or reruns of the Red Sox games.)

The free wi-fi was easy to access, and unlike some systems, this one did not require me to change email settings to use it.  The staff was helpful and sometimes, intuitive.

But, the key card repeatedly did not work in the outer door.  My room was near the front, so going around to the front desk and having the key card re-set was not too inconvenient, but uncomfortable Thursday and Friday in the pouring rain. Grrrr. But, the staff at the front desk were pleasant and helpful.  When I left, I mentioned the problem.   One of the clerks, who had re-set my key card and thought it was set to use throughout my stay, was present.  They agreed they needed to list that as a maintenance item.   But did nothing to compensate me for my inconvenience.

I ate free breakfast every morning. The selection was small, but adequate.  I just wish they had had ketchup for the eggs, but that is me.  So, all and all, it was an adqueate experience.

I used Dollar Rental Car http://www.dollar.com/Locations/gen.aspx?locationId=BDL.  Although the rental car lot is off site of the airport, access by van was easy, and drivers were helpful.  Check in was quick, and they provided maps and directions to get to the interstate, and then to return to the site from the interstate. 

When I returned the car, I mentioned that I had had to add a quart of oil.  My brother had mentioned they should pay for the cost of the oil. I thought that would be fair.  They did not.They took 20% off of my bill. I thought that was more than fair.  Wow!  It was not really that wrong, but they sure made it right!

I used the Airport Shelter Park http://airportshelterpark.com/ for my car at the airport.  I usually use uncovered parking at another lot, and that lot has covered parking, but the cover is not as good as at Airport Shelter Park. We are in a weather cycle with intermittent chance of severe weather, including hail, so I wanted the car under the more substantial cover.  The driver insisted on loading my bags into the car, explaining that should I hurt myself doing so, I might not return as a customer. Sounds like good customer service to me.

I flew American Airlines http://www.aa.com/homePage.do.  I am used to Southwest Airlines https://www.google.com/search?q=Southwest+airlines&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7ADBF&gws_rd=ssl and the attitude of we will make your experience pleasant.  American Airlines was a neutral experience.  

So two out of four got good marks for customer service.  The others did not get bad marks, but nothing to write home about, either.

Amenities and Services

So, I am going to a national conference in a high dollar hotel in Atlanta, Georgia.  I am looking forward to this conference. I am going as a board member for a not for profit social service organization.  I am not sure I will get to do much sight seeing in Atlanta, but that is not the reason I am going to Atlanta.

I was checking out the amenities and services of the hotel. I am used to looking for economy motels that offer all kinds of services.  The hotel I am going to offers wireless access for $14.95 a day. That is nuts! I know this is a big city hotel, and it caters to business people who have expense accounts, and can expense their wireless service.

I like to travel with my laptop.  I am trying to decide if I want to travel with my laptop this time, knowing that I will not pay $14.95 for wireless access at the hotel. 

Even if I do not have wireless access, I can do notes and blogging off line, and upload it at a later date. 

Hmmm. I will have to decide what to do.

Blogging on Vacation

I actually returned home yesterday after a 6 day vacation.   While I was away, I wrote some blogs, and they will eventually by posted, but I chose not to post while I was away, if it had anything to do with being away.

I think we put too much private information on line and people know too much about our lives.  I did not want anyone who chose to look on line to know I was away, for the safety of my home.

But, now I am back!

Safety and Security Come First

Safety and Security Come First

It is actually May 17, 2012, and I am in the Radisson in Providence, RI. I am very tired, but too tired to sleep. Most of the clothing in my suitcase is soaked, and I have hung some up, hoping it will dry some overnight.
The day became weirder and weirder. Our flight that was going to be late by almost three hours was rescheduled to be late by just an hour. As we were getting ready to board the plan, it was determined there was a mechanical problem on the plan, and the next available plane did not arrive until almost 8 PM. Which would get us into Providence after 1030. I called the hotel and rental car to confirm my reservations, but to let them know that I would be late. We finally were airborne.
There was constant turbulence on the flight. So much so, the attendants stayed seated the entire flight. When someone lit the call button, it was answered, and then we were told not to do that unless it was an emergency, and to stay in our seats, not even to get up to use the restroom. We were diverted to Baltimore because the fog was so bad at Providence. The turbulence was so bad the attendants stayed seated and used “the honor system” for pre-landing instructions.
Most people were disgusted with the fog excuse. We landed in Baltimore and had to change planes. The trip to Providence was uneventful, and mostly clear, until we were in our final descent. The fog was so thick we could not see ground lights or anything. A buzz went up, people were finally aware how dangerous this situation was. But the air cleared as we closed in on the ground, and the landing was a safe one.
With the airline, safety and security came first. Intellectually, I know that is right, but I sometimes “push it.” Like my decision to try to drive into York after we were supposed to land at 10:30 at night. I knew I was tired, and driving in the dark on unfamiliar roads would be quite a trial. Which is why I opted for the Providence route, as, if it happened as scheduled, I would have landed early enough that the trip would not have been a trial.
As we were flying towards Providence from Orlando, I was stressed and had to re-think my decision, but kept thinking I would try the trip. God took it out of my hands, as the diversion to Baltimore ensured that we landed well after the car rental counters were closed. I called the rental dealer and changed my reservation for in the morning.
I got a hotel in Providence. My room is paid for at the resort where my niece’s wedding will be, so I can check in when I get there, rather than wait for check in time.
I need to remember that safety and security should always come first, no matter the price.
I have been putting off getting the tree near the house trimmed. But there are some dead branches in it, and they could easily be pulled off the tree in high winds, and do damage to the house. I have decided to contact a tree trimmer. It will be less expensive than the deductible on an insurance claim. Safety and security do come first.
　
　

Camping Out

Reporting on the major serious storms, especially snow storms, often includes items about people camping out at the airport.  I chose to fly from Lubbock to Providence on May 16, 2012, as it was scheduled to get into Providence at 7 PM compared to 11 or so in Manchester. Well, the delays we are experiencing will get me into Providence about 10:40 PM.  I changed my rental car reservation so hopefully, there will be a car available for me when I get there.

Meanwhile, there is a small group of people who have hunkered down and are camping out at the gate, waiting for the plan to arrive, deplane, restock and reload and depart.  We have heard lots of heavy rain, there has been thunder and lightning, it has been gray.  But although people are discouraged, there has been little really ill temper.  There is nothing to be done but wait.

I checked on the later flight to Providence that is leaving before we are: they were overbooked.  This is Southwest airlines, though, and they are giving the passengers $100 voucher for the delay.

Last year, when I flew back from Seattle, we were diverted to El Paso due to smoke, and we received $100 vouchers for that, in the  mail.  I also received a night's accommodation at a VERY nice hotel.  That will not happen this time.  I hope to get up to Maine tonight.  It is another two hours, but I think I can do it.  I do not want to camp out at the Providence airport.

Traveling

It is Wednesday May 16, 2012. I am in the Orlando airport awaiting a flight to Providence RI.  I chose this route because I did not want to get into Manchester at 11:30 at night.  When I got to Orlando, my flight status was updated, to leave about 7:25 PM instead of 4:10 PM.  That would put my into Providence about 1030.  Since then, the status has changed to depart at 5:05 PM.  Much better.

They just requested someone to change their travel schedule for a very sizable voucher.  If I were not traveling some place away from the airport where I am unfamiliar about the travel, I would take the offer.

But, I might end up like last year, with a trip and no where I want to go.  I had a great time in Seattle, but would have probably done a ground trip to some place I want to see, if I did not have the air travel voucher that was going to expire.

I generally do not mind traveling Southwest, which has as good a record as any carrier.  I do not know if our changes are weather related or not, but it is raining very, very hard here.  It was gray when we arrived, and the weather has really moved in.

This is the first time in my life I have been in Florida.  Thanks to Southwest, I go some different places: Las Vegas, Nevada, Baltimore, Maryland, for example.  Hmmm.

Something is Going On

Sake and Haiku have been through this before: the cat sitter comes around. Mom pulls out the suitcases and puts a lot of stuff in them.

Taki does not know what is going on, but she was not happy about having company last night. So, I need to do more to have people in, to socialize her.

Tonight, even before I pulled out the suitcases, as I checked the anticipated weather in York, so I would know what to pack, Sake, Haiku and Taki were with me at the computer.  It is not unusual for Haiku and/or Taki to be with me. And, if Sake joins us, she is usually laying curled up in a basket on the floor, not in my face on the tray table next to my chair.

They have all been very present, in my face, on my lap, or just checking me out.  Something is going on.

Charles Kuralt's "America"

I recently picked up a non-fiction book to read, and enjoyed it so much, even though it was not for one of my book clubs, I decided to make a conscious effort to read more non-fiction.  So, low and behold, the last time I was in the library, I was walking to the back, and randomly went down a row of non-fiction book shelves, and saw Charles Kuralt.  On my way back to the front of the library, I made a point to go down the same row, and I picked up Charles Kuralt's America.

For those of you who do not know who Charles Kuralt http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/325153/Charles-Kuralt was, we was a television reporter who worked for CBS, and was most frequently seen on the Sunday Morning show. His segment was entitled "On the Road with Charles Kuralt" because he would travel around the country in a recreational vehicle, long before they were really, really common, and do interesting stories about America.

The book I read, Charles Kuralt's America http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/68402-1, was written by him after he retired. He spent a year traveling to various spots in the country, spending more or less a month in each spot.  I have to say, it was a most enjoyable book.  He went to several places I have been to:  the Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico, the Appalachians of North Carolina, the coast of Maine, Vermont, New York City.  And they way he talked about the other places, and the people he met, lead me to believe that I would enjoy those places as much as he did, because the places I had been were described by him so winningly.  Even New York City. He commented that New Yorkers do not live in New York city, they live in their own little village or area of New York City.  When my niece lived in Brooklyn, she described it very much that way, which made it seem much more pleasant, like home.

What he did was more than reporting on a location, or describing the sights or writing about people. When he did was report on the location and the people, and the character of both, personalizing it so the beauty, uniqueness, the spirit and heart of his subjects reached out and touched us through the airwaves.  His manner was gently, unassuming, charming.  He was a mild mannered person. This came through in his reports. But he was very insightful, had depth of character and depth of understanding and caring for the people about whom he reported. He did not exploit people or places in his reports.  I sometimes think he held back, maybe just a little, to help preserve the uniqueness of fragile places.  He could afford to do that. His stories were not about "scoops" but they were about the heart and soul of this country.  And he did capture that, time and time again.

This was truly a very enjoyable book.  I know I will read more by Charles Kuralt.  He was, and still is, a national treasure.

Travelling

My niece is getting married in May, and I am looking forward to attending the wedding, and visiting with family.  I am thinking that I will fly to New England and rent a car to get to the site and ceremonies  (wedding, reception).  In many respects, this works better for me in terms of getting to where I need to go on time. I allow some leeway in traveling, so if there are missed connections or other travel delays, I can accommodate. And, when I return home, I allow the same flexibilities in my travel.

I would much rather travel cross country by car.  But the gasoline prices are so high, the amount of time of reaching destinations can vary, and involves as many days of travel as of visiting.  The advantage of the cross country drive is that various sight seeing activities can be built in, either on the trip to the destination, on the trip to home, or both.

Traveling has its own set of tension:  In the airport, going through the security check.  Making connections. Did the luggage get transferred as it should have, and arrive with the passenger? Although I have a reservation, will it be honored (I have had problems with this over the years.) When I get a rental car, are my maps adequate? Are the directions accurate? Am I comfortable driving this car?

Mostly, when I travel, I work to have a positive mindset about the event. But there sure are a lot of possible negative problems that could occur.

Vacations experiences

Last year, in the autumn, I took a driving trip to northeast New Mexico.  It was a short trip, but filled with long hours of comfortable, back roads but good highway driving, sightseeing, good eating, comfortable hotel time, and in general just nice, relaxing time.

The leisure, release and relaxation I enjoyed on that trip sustained me for quite some time, and even now, as I recall it, I can  also recall the relaxed feeling I experienced.

That is what a vacation should engender: nothing rushed, nothing stressful or hectic, nothing untoward.

This past June I took a trip that was very nice, but not as relaxing.  There were some issues: driving an unfamiliar car, driving in a big city instead of small towns and country roads, an airline issue which was minimal from my perspective, but still, a little stressful.  It was still a great vacation, but not as refreshing as my trip to New Mexico last autumn.

As we go through life, we can appreciate the changes we make, and what works and does not work for us.  I know myself, and driving trips are so much more pleasant for me.  Having control works for me.  Back roads and country atmospheres work for me.

But, if I did not experience other environments, other changes, I would not appreciate what works for me.

A Little Sleep

As is usual when I travel, although I was able to get to bed at reasonable hours, I had little real sleep. I spent most of my nights dozing until very early in the morning. This happens for several reasons, only one of which is that I am excited about the next day’s activiites, and am eager for the time to wake up. I can sustain this kind of sleep for several days, and did so on my trip to Seattle. I arose early, not tired, and was eager for the day’s events. I pursued through the day, and finished in the early evening, returning to rest to my hotel room. I did not sleep until late, but used the early evening as recuperative resting time.

Until the last night of my trip, when, with the diverted plane flight, things were unsettled for some time, I did fine.  I did not do poorly even when my trip was diverted. I think we finally got to the hotel  in El Paso about 9 PM. I was tired but not sleepy, and knowing me, this combination means I will not sleep if I try. So, I stayed up until I was sleepy. Which was fine, except, of course, once again I slept that drifting in and out sleep which does not give me the rest I need. It was about midnight when I went to bed, and I arose at 4 AM as planned, to be ready to get to the airport in time to get my flight to Dallas. I got to Dallas, and had a 2 and a half hour lay-over go get to Lubbock. There is simply no flight sooner than that. But, I got home

Flying to Where?

My flight home from Seattle was to include a stop in Albuquerque,where I was to take a connecting flight to Lubbock. As we flew into Albuquerque, the air was thick with smoke, and the wind was stout. It was decided to divert the plane to El Paso, the plane’s alternate landing area, and the next stop on this multi-leg flight to Austin. Those passengers scheduled to debark in El Paso were allowed to do so, and the airline found a connecting flight to Dallas for many other passengers.

So, on June 7, I was in the El Paso airport once again, at 5:30 AM. Monday, June 6, 2011 was the day that I was scheduled to return to Lubbock from Seattle. But it did not happen.

For those of you who do not know about flying Southwest, the schedule for my flight home was not that unusual: I was on a plane that was scheduled to land in Albuquerque; I was to deplane, with many others, and would fly into Lubbock from Albuquerque. The plane was scheduled to go on to El Paso, and then Austin, Texas. 

After about 30 minutes on the ground in El Paso, it was determined we would be on the ground 30 minutes or more still, so we were encouraged to deplane and use the amenities. They resurrected some old plastic boarding passes and let us off. Shortly thereafter, they told those of us going to Houston, Midland-Odessa and Lubbock that we would be put up in a hotel for the night, and we were on scheduled confirmed flights on June 7 AM. I had taken my carry on bag with me, thinking I would play with the computer, so did not need to go back to the plane and get anything.

I am not sure what happened to the others, but Southwest was trying to get the plane back to Albuquerque to return those passengers going to Albuquerque, pick up the people in Albuquerque who were trying to get to El Paso and Austin, and then return to El Paso, then Austin.

So, June 6, 2011, I spent the night in the Radisson at the El Paso Airport. It included free Internet, and a breakfast voucher, but I had to leave about 4:30 AM to get to the airport for my 6 AM flight, which would take me to Dallas, then to Lubbock, arriving about 12 noon.When I checked out, the clerk at the hotel tried to charge me for my room. I have to wonder; when I told her I was on a voucher, she did not object, and acted like it was in the system. So, I have to wonder if sometimes, they charge twice, and the staff make some money. Is that so very negative? Skeptical?

The airport is right next to the hotel. The shuttle driver was very informative: he is working on a master’s degree in health administration, and his day job is in a clinic in Juarez, which he claims is a safe city during the day. He also suggested I visit the University of Texas at El Paso Museum which has a lot of archaeological/historical displays, when I next visit El Paso. Food for thought.

Rental Cars

I still do not have all the ins and outs of rental cars figured out. I know my insurance is supposed to cover me in a rental car, and am able to resist the dire sounding problems that might occur if I do not buy supplemental insurance.

I have learned not to buy a tank of gas because I can fill the car up before I turn it in; if I buy a tank of gas, even at a lower than market price, the likely hood of my returning the car on empty is small, and the rental car company gets to use the gas I paid for, anyway.

Upgrades are nice, but beware, they can drastically effect the amount you are paying for your rental fee without your realizing it. Market prices vary depending upon demand, and a rental car in a market like Florida or Arizona at Christmas is worth much more than the same car in the middle of the summer. And, of course, if you rent a car in one location, and drop it off in another, the drop off charge is amazing, and can double the cost of the rental.

Having said all that, isn’t it nice to show up some where by plane or train, and then be able to drive where ever, these days generally with unlimited mileage, and in many markets, in more than one state, without major limitations. So, it is a pleasant luxury to be able to enjoy.

Seafood

One of the best things about being in Seattle was the fresh seafood.  I grew up in New England, and fresh fish and fresh seafood was so very available. In Lubbock, this is not so, of course.

So, fresh seafood in Seattle was great.  I went to a Chinese food restaurant, and ordered a seafood dish. The proprietress told me it would be frozen seafood, so I picked another dish, and did get fresh seafood. That was so intuitive, thoughtful, and aware...

I had several seafood meals while I was in Seattle.  I spent more money on food than I normally do on a vacation, but the fresh seafood was MARVELOUS!