Sorry, no time to blog much at the moment. My friend “AZ” picked me up at my hotel after my conference ended on Friday. We enjoyed dinner together, then went to his house. We prepared a list of things that we needed to get from the local building supplies retailer so I can do some home improvement projects at his house while I am spending the weekend with him in Phoenix.
Check back…
This post is about some amusing things I heard at my home airport in Maryland, aboard my flight, and after arrival yesterday in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, where I am leading a major event for my work.
I traveled comfortably, in a pair of Wranglers and Nocona Rattlesnake cowboy boots.
Here goes:
Arriving at the airport whilst checking in
Aboard the plane
Upon arrival in Phoenix
Welcome to Arizona!
Have you heard that expression, “the thousand things to see before you die?” The challenge is to make a list of 1,000 things you really want to see before you die (and that website list is a great place to start).
I think about that challenge frequently, and I have made such a list (though I can’t say it has 1,000 items on it.) I am pleased that I have seen many of the items on my list, but have many more to do.
What I want to see sometime
Some grand locations I have seen already (outside the U.S.)
I have been richly blessed to have had a father who wanted his kids to see their own country, and brought us to each state on summer holiday while we were growing up. Subsequently, business travel with a former employer brought me to each state of the fifty United States (many, many times), and each territory and possession: Guam, American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Marshall Islands, CNMI (Saipan, Tinian, Rota), Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and even the Panama Canal Zone when it was held by the U.S.
Frequent flyer miles earned from all this travel brought my partner and me to a number of other places listed above, including many places in Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific. Of course, that was back when my partner could travel.
What were my favorites? I enjoyed them all; each has a great story to tell and richness of history. Where would I return? Probably Italy, as I speak the language, love the people, and know there is much more to see. Also I long to return to Australia, where we own property and have many friends.
There are a thousand more things I want to see, yet haven’t figured out if I will, or if my interests have changed and I am no longer interested, or if I can or am willing to afford the travel, or if my partner will (ever) travel again.
What’s on your list?
[I am second from the right in this photo taken in front of Devil’s Tower, Wyoming in August, 1995. My partner took the picture].
A few friends have asked me, “why didn’t you go to Sturgis this year?” Sturgis is a general reference to the largest motorcycle rally held in the United States. The epicenter of the rally is a small town: Sturgis, South Dakota, USA, which becomes a thriving throng of hundreds of thousands of bikers during the first week of August each year. The 69th Anniversary Sturgis Rally & Races was held August 3 – 9, 2009.
I had heard about this big rally for many years, and convinced my partner to go to it with me in 1995, two-up on my Dyna Low Rider. I shipped my Harley to Denver, then my partner and I flew out and met it there. We spent a beautiful week getting to South Dakota via the Rocky Mountains and Wyoming, staying a night or two in various towns along the way. Riding two-up with all of our gear on a cruiser was not something taken lightly, nor provided for riding more than a couple hundred miles each day.
We stayed in a “dive” of a hotel in Rapid City, which we had arranged a year in advance. Oh well, it provided our own private bath, air conditioning, and a bed without bed bugs. We are not the types of guys who would enjoy camping with a bunch of rowdy drunken bikers, so we avoided the camp grounds. (That’s where a lot of the visitors stay.)
For the five days we were in the Sturgis area, we rode back roads and byways that provided for fascinating scenery via two wheels. Riding right up to Mt. Rushmore was a thrill. We saw Devil’s Tower, Wyoming, Lead and Wall, South Dakota, and the badlands. We were among the few “weirdos” who actually went to bed early so we could get up early, have breakfast, then mount our ride and ride … and ride… and ride (I put over 2,500 miles on my bike during that trip!) Many others did not seem to awaken until after noon ’cause they stayed up half the night partying.
We visited the mega-destination of Sturgis, itself, three times during the rally. It was quite a scene, with literally tens of thousand bikes parked everywhere. Vendors of anything biker-related were ubiquitous. My partner bought me my “Skyrider Vest” while I was there. But besides a few t-shirts and small items, we didn’t get much. We didn’t have room to pack it! We did not go to any of the other events held during the rally, such as races (I’m not interested in motorcycle racing), nor parties that were more oriented to straight bikers (women’s boobs and such…).
What I noticed most was the noise. Man, it was just LOUD all the time. We couldn’t hear ourselves talk. Of our three visits to Sturgis itself, my ears rang and I started getting bad headaches. Some thought I was hung over — but since I don’t drink alcohol, that wasn’t the problem. I bought some ear plugs that helped somewhat. But my ears rang and head ached all week. My partner had the same problems.
What we enjoyed most was the scenery. There’s nothing quite like riding highways with thousands of other bikers around, and hardly any four-wheeled vehicles. Pity the poor family on vacation driving a recreational vehicle through the area, not knowing the rally was going on. I betcha they thought all those bikes were like gnats buzzing by, going 85mph when they were only going 50.
During this visit, I explored riding without a helmet. There is no mandatory helmet law in South Dakota or Wyoming. I bought some really good eye protection (sort of like goggles) and we rode for about a half-hour helmetless. Then we decided that: 1) the noise of the blowing wind was really bad; 2) we learned what “bugs in the teeth were;” and 3) we felt very uncomfortable. We pulled over and put our full-face helmets back on and were much more comfortable. I have never ridden without a helmet since then.
Why not go back? Well… it is far away and getting there takes a lot of planning. Either ride all the way and bust one’s butt doing so, or ship the bike and be without it for a month before and a month after the event. It is over 1,600 miles (2,575km) one-way from where we live. Limiting our daily travel to no more than 300 miles/day (my limit), it would take more than five days to get there (provided we don’t stop and see something along the way) and equally as long to get back, not to mention the time actually there. I just don’t have that amount of leave to take from work. Plus, my partner can not ride with me any more, and going alone is not an option. Some guys in my club have ridden out there, but they like to ride longer distances per day that I do, so it wouldn’t work for me to go with them.
Plus, I hate to say it, but as I get older, events like that are not as interesting to me any more. The noise is the strongest deterrent. Then being around all those people … really, not something I want to do again. I would love to ride those roads again, and see things I did not have the chance to see before. However, I do not think I will. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt (and the vest.)
Life is short: realize your dreams when you’re young — life has a funny habit of changing your priorities and interests as you age.
My travels this week brought me to Wilmington, Delaware. I had to drive there through slogs of rain, both directions. It is about a two-hour drive from my home, but with the rain and road spray, the traffic was a bit slower. Most people drive with caution, especially the truckers.
When the conference I attended was over yesterday afternoon, I offered to drop off a colleague at the Amtrak (passenger rail) station so she could return to Richmond where she lives. And that’s where the trouble began….
As I drove up to the station entrance, which was wide open with no vehicles anywhere in sight, my friend said goodbye, got out of my truck and went to the back to get her luggage out. Then this platinum-dyed-blond old female Wilmington cop came to the passenger side of my truck and signaled me to open the window. I did, and this is what she yelled into my window:
“Starting soon we are fining people $90 for stopping here. You can’t stop here. This isn’t a place to stop! We will fine you $90 for stopping here! The place to drop people off is down there around the corner. If you come back, you will get a $90 ticket!”
She said this in her most officious tone and demanding posture with a screechy, nail-scratch-on-the-chalkboard voice.
Oh cripes, dingbat, if I stopped in the wrong place, don’t you think you could have told me that politely — and I would have moved? But noooo… you had to behave in a rude and ugly manner. I’m sure this cop sees people stop in this wrong place regularly. However, her behavior was uncalled for.
It got me to thinking about how last impressions linger. For example, last week, I was annoyed by being selected for “random extra screening” by the TSA while boarding a flight from Kansas City for Charlotte. However, the kid who wanded me just did his job and didn’t say anything. His colleague, an older woman, tried to relieve my annoyance by at least trying to be pleasant, even if I were unhappy. Come to think about it, she was leaving me with a last impression that I will remember. I was mildly annoyed, but mostly because I was delayed getting on my flight for what I thought was an unnecessary screening.
Yesterday afternoon, however, was a different story. What will linger in my mind is that a cop, who willingly or not, serves as a representative of the City of Wilmington, left me with a very sour impression of the city. Will I ever want to return? No… not unless I absolutely have to. But the city is rather decrepit and seedy, so I really have no reason other than business to return if I must. I just hope I don’t have to.
And I hope this cop gets put back into a training course on dealing with the public, as I recommended in a written letter of complaint to the Chief of Police. There are a variety of ways of dealing with the public, and this cop did not demonstrate any ability or knowledge of how to behave appropriately.
Life is short: lighten up, and remember, you may be the last person someone from out-of-town talks to, and they may remember your short encounter for a long time. This is why, for example, I don’t make rude comments to visitors to Washington who stop at the bottom of Metro escalators (they are called “escalumps” in local lingo). They just don’t realize what they’re doing. Smile, show them the results of their action in a light manner, and move on.
I have had a lot of short trips for work lately. Today I am in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. I am completing Day 2 of a major conference that I am running. It is going well, but keeping me very busy. The hotel staff are wonderful and very helpful everywhere I turn. Generally that’s true of everyone I have met in Kansas City. Genuine Midwestern helpful charm is the norm.
The city itself has a character, though, of just “dying” after 5pm. I looked out my hotel room window at 6, and there were no cars on the streets as far as the eye can see. I am assured that people are here. You just can’t see them. They all skedaddle home after work. Come to think about it, I do that too back home in DC.
KC is known for barbeque, which is the bane of my existence. Being “over-barbequed” here last summer, I was briefly hospitalized. I am finding alternatives that are compatible with my sensitive internal system on this trip. Man, the steak last night was great!
Tonight I will be having dinner with two guys I met through “BOL”. Very nice men, and who like boots as I do. We will entertain Grandma (one of the guy’s grandmothers) and catch up on our respective lives. Then they will extend their Midwestern hospitality by taking me boot shopping at Kleinschmidt’s tomorrow. I had a great experience with them taking me there last summer. With over 11,000 pairs of boots, this Bootman will be in heaven. Don’t know if or what I may get, … check back… news at 11 (well, in a few days, anyway.)
Meanwhile, I “only” brought two pairs of my own boots to wear. My recently purchased Lucchese Ostrich cowboy boots, and a pair of Dan Post Ostrich Leg boots. They go well with the clothes I have to wear at this event. (Thank goodness, no jacket or tie!) Some of the men in the group are wearing boots, too, including several law enforcement types in tactical boots.
Life is short: wear your boots!
Back in the good old days, that is prior to Sept. 11, 2001, flying on domestic US airlines was tolerable, and even sometimes enjoyable. The complaints back then were about weather delays and on-time arrivals. The number of flights from which to choose, and with my preferred airport at BWI having a number of choices, I was a happy bird when I had to fly. I flew so much that I got some perks and upgrades that were pleasant.
Oh how I long for those days. In my previous job, I flew over 100,000 actual air miles every year, mostly within the domestic U.S., but occasionally to international destinations. I would try to concentrate my air miles onto USAir if I could, so that I could fly them again for holiday travel with my partner to such places as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, or South America. I even had an affinity credit card that would boost my mileage on USAir.
Oh the good old days. Now they nickel-and-dime you to death with trying to make you pay fees for a seat in front of the wings, fees for checking luggage, outrageous charges for something they call a “snack,” and what really burns me is their ransom of $2 for a soft drink and now they just announced a $7 extortion attempt for a pillow and blanket.
They can shove that pillow where the sun don’t shine.
That’s it. I just called to cancel my affinity credit card relationship. I will use the last of my miles to visit my brother, and then take another trip later this year to see a very dear old friend out West, and then that’s it. My relationship with that airline and its nickel-and-diming policies is over.
And it’s so sad. It once was a great carrier. Now its full of crap. I hope this time and in this economy when they are in financial trouble, they just go out of business. Screw USAirways and its bottom-of-the-barrel scumsucking nickel-and-diming extortion attempts. I have listened enough to my friend AZ to convert me to using another airline from now on.
Greetings from Dead-In-the-Air (DIA, Denver) Airport. One good thing about this facility is that it is among very few airports in the United States that offers free wifi at the boarding gates. So that’s where I am writing from at the moment.
I am waiting for yet another delayed Untied Airlines (sic) flight. Yesterday’s flight from Baltimore to Denver was hell. Seems like tonight will be just as bad.
What I detest about Untied Airlines is that they charge for even the first piece of checked luggage… so everyone is financially motivated to bring everything with them as carry-on luggage. I was only staying one night, so I only had one small carry-on bag (men’s clothes pack lightly LOL!).
The second thing that I detest about Untied Airlines is that as you are getting your boarding pass (either on-line or at the ticket kiosk), you are induced to pay a ransom for a seat with more leg room. You see, at Untied Airlines, seats from the exit row forward are spaced with 5″ of additional leg room (compared with seats in the back). Seats behind the exit row to the back of the plane are more closely squished together, and are where those who won’t pay this ransom (or who don’t have status on the airline) are forced to sit. So if you are among the unfortunate business travelers whose company only pays for economy class, you either are forced to pay the “upgrade” ransom out of your own pocket, or eat your knees when the passenger in front of you reclines his/her seat.
But that’s not all… yesterday at BWI, my plane loads, and we’re all squished to the gills because the flight is jam packed. The plane sits and sits and sits… and we only get “we’re finding out what’s going on… seems like a maintenance issue” message from the flight attendant. This goes on for two-and-a-half hours.
They finally decide to let us off the plane to get lunch… “but hurry back… we will be leaving soon!” So I grab a burger, rush back, and then we’re told “well, it looks like another hour.”
Finally we are allowed back on the plane. We wait and wait. Then we’re told that we have to deplane because the pilot has to “power down.” So we all get off… wait an hour, then all get back on.
FIVE HOURS after first getting on this old 757 the pilot says we can go… the plane gets pushed back, then sits and sits and sits and sits. The pilot then announces that the right engine won’t start, followed by, “we’re talking to maintenance about it.” Meanwhile, the flight attendants prance down the aisle selling (SELLING!) snacks!
The plane finally took off, about five and a half hours after it was supposed to. The only bright spot was that the huge guy stuck in the middle seat next to me never came back, so I had a little bit more room for the flight to Denver.
Now it’s time to return… the flight was supposed to leave at 7pm and arrive about midnight at home. Yuck. I don’t like late fights, but that’s all that was available for when I needed to travel. And when I arrived at the Denver airport, cleared security (which really wasn’t a problem), I see that my departure is delayed at least an hour for some unspecified reason.
Update 09/05: We were boarded onto the plane an hour late, but once we all were seated, the pilot said that due to foul weather, the ground crew was called indoors for their own safety. We were delayed another hour before the ground crew returned to load the luggage for our aircraft. What really bugs me is that this additional delay would not have happened had the plane been ready to depart on time. The flight was bumpy, so I couldn’t sleep much. I crawled in the door at home at 3:15am. And I have to be at a meeting in DC at 8:00am. I’ll be there, but don’t know in what condition.
I HATE UNITED AIRLINES! Anybody want some miles??? Seriously, I am not going to fly this crappy airline again if I can avoid it. Unfortunately, most domestic U.S. airlines have serious problems, as well as various ways of nickel-and-diming passengers to extort more money from them, from paying to choose a seat or paying for a can of soda.
I once flew well over 100,000 miles each year in a previous job. While all that travel was exhausting, in the days before Sept. 11, 2001 for the most part, you could get where you needed to be on a non-stop flight with few delays (other than weather). Nowadays, you can’t get anywhere quickly, or on time. What a shame. What a real shame.
I will be blogging less this week as I am at a conference out-of-town and won’t have regular access to the Internet. I will not have much time off, including the weekend. However, two boot buds will be providing some relief while I have a brief break on Saturday afternoon/evening, when we will be going boot shopping, perhaps, and to dinner.
Considering all the hassles of air travel and the nickel-and-diming that the airlines are doing now in charging $1,000 for the weight of a facial tissue, I am only bringing two pairs of boots with me. One pair that I will wear on the plane, my black dress Dan Post Ostrich leg cowboy boots, and one other pair: my brown Nocona Ostrich inlay cowboy boots. Both are very comfortable, which is a requirement since I will be on my feet all day for the next week. I am not bringing any leather. It’s hot, and I have nowhere to wear it. Oh well, I’ll survive.
Be safe!