The Friday Five: Virtual Travel
Anybody remember those fairly recent airline commercials where something bad happens, or someone makes a serious gaffe, and the tagline is, "Wanna get away?"
I just found out that the group of middle school students coming to perform snippets from their recent school musical at the library's open house this weekend numbers about two dozen. I was expecting, I don't know, maybe eight, ten tops? Where on earth am I going to put all those kids? (So far the answer is, "Whatever as long as it doesn't interfere with the hired magician/juggler's setting up." Arrrrgh.)
There's so much office politics going on at that place, it's crazy. And the weather may be lousy, so there's the aggravation. This is my first "big" event--part of its purpose is for the community to meet me. I turned down work at the bookstore so I can get a badly needed haircut. . . and I shelled out an unmentionable amount of money on my car so I could an oil change and put on two new tires so it would pass inspection. The bills have just been rolling in this week.
So the question comes up: "Wanna get away?"
Yup. But I can't, so let's just make the Friday Five all about travel:
1. The farthest away I've ever been from home? Mexico City.
2. Foreign countries I've visited: Mexico (obviamente) and Canada. One of my "childhood camping trips from hell" was near Niagara Falls and we visited Toronto. I remember going to a Blue Jays game. I also remember how badly it was raining as we sat in customs traffic going home. One of my cousins had a giant lollipop and stuck it out the window. Licking rainwater was probably not a smart thing to do in the 1980s.
3. Farthest west I've been in my home country: a small town in Western Ohio (not too far from the Indiana border) for a college friend's wedding. If you want to get technical, I did spend some time in DFW when rain delayed my connecting flight coming back from Mexico. Never left the airport, though. I was sixteen and flying by myself for the first time--and that was only the second time I'd taken a flight, ever.
4. Farthest south I've been in my home country: Kitty Hawk, NC--it was lovely. I wonder how much it's changed in eleven years. (Again, not counting DFW.)
5. Farthest west I've been in my home state: Pittsburgh. Being in Western PA is like being in another state. People speak differently and cheer for different sports teams. But a place with a cool museum isn't all bad.
Have a good weekend!
I just found out that the group of middle school students coming to perform snippets from their recent school musical at the library's open house this weekend numbers about two dozen. I was expecting, I don't know, maybe eight, ten tops? Where on earth am I going to put all those kids? (So far the answer is, "Whatever as long as it doesn't interfere with the hired magician/juggler's setting up." Arrrrgh.)
There's so much office politics going on at that place, it's crazy. And the weather may be lousy, so there's the aggravation. This is my first "big" event--part of its purpose is for the community to meet me. I turned down work at the bookstore so I can get a badly needed haircut. . . and I shelled out an unmentionable amount of money on my car so I could an oil change and put on two new tires so it would pass inspection. The bills have just been rolling in this week.
So the question comes up: "Wanna get away?"
Yup. But I can't, so let's just make the Friday Five all about travel:
1. The farthest away I've ever been from home? Mexico City.
2. Foreign countries I've visited: Mexico (obviamente) and Canada. One of my "childhood camping trips from hell" was near Niagara Falls and we visited Toronto. I remember going to a Blue Jays game. I also remember how badly it was raining as we sat in customs traffic going home. One of my cousins had a giant lollipop and stuck it out the window. Licking rainwater was probably not a smart thing to do in the 1980s.
3. Farthest west I've been in my home country: a small town in Western Ohio (not too far from the Indiana border) for a college friend's wedding. If you want to get technical, I did spend some time in DFW when rain delayed my connecting flight coming back from Mexico. Never left the airport, though. I was sixteen and flying by myself for the first time--and that was only the second time I'd taken a flight, ever.
4. Farthest south I've been in my home country: Kitty Hawk, NC--it was lovely. I wonder how much it's changed in eleven years. (Again, not counting DFW.)
5. Farthest west I've been in my home state: Pittsburgh. Being in Western PA is like being in another state. People speak differently and cheer for different sports teams. But a place with a cool museum isn't all bad.
Have a good weekend!
Comments
2. Foreign countries I've visited: Does a layover count? I'll say no and just count the one's I spent time in intentionally. Mexico, Canada, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Philippines, Korea, Turkey, Germany, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan
3. Farthest west I've been in my home country: Seattle, I imagine. I can't remember if I had a layover in Hawaii or not so I'll stick with that.
4. Farthest south I've been in my home country: Key West
5. Farthest west I've been in my home state: Home as in where I was born or where I live now? If now, well, I live in Memphis and you don't get any further west in this state. I was born in Louisiana and I've driven through the state at all points north, south, east and west.
Cullen--look at all those countries! Would you want to go back to visit any of them again?
Why yes, I have been geeking out with Google Maps. Entirely unrelated!
3 - Farthest west in my own country: trick question! I've been to Cleveland but the correct answer is Tampa, Florida, by less than one degree of longitude. (82° 27' 31" W vs. 81° 40' 11" W.) Well, I guess technically that makes it a "trick answer" because the question was really straightforward.
4 - Farthest south in my own country: Miami, Florida.
5 - Farthest west in my own state: New Jersey is more of a North/South state, so this is tricky. Trenton is actually half-way between the farthest points east and west, and Salem County (the "rump" of New Jersey) is the utter West of the state. I would guess that the one time I was in Camden would be correct, unless my visit to the Delaware Water Gap took me into the tip of Warren County.
'Fly--you are totally geeking out with the Google maps there! You're right that east and west don't work as well with NJ ("rump"--hahahaha). Of course, I use only three directions for it: "North Jersey," "the Shore," and "over the bridge."
Cullen--three years in another country, wow. And one that's very different from the U.S. I couldn't imagine that!