Back from my travels...

Dear readers,

Here I am, finally back from my journeys and ensconsed happily back at "Today's World". Overall, I had a lovely time on my trip and saw lots of neat people and fun scenery.

After leaving New York, I proceeded to Boston, where I spent a day with the Irishman, in observance of his birthday. That evening there was a lovely party, ably hostessed by his charming new girlfriend. I always like all of the Irishman's girlfriends with the exception of the one he married. But that was AGES ago, and over now, so let's not go there.

Then it was back on the Acela and down to Washington DC, where I did some very geeky things (went to the Library of Congress and the Postal Museum) and headed back to Chicago on the Capitol Limited, which is a lovely train, and well worth taking.

After disembarking in Chicago, it was out to O'Hare for the flight home and the dawning of a new concept in my mind: What the United States needs is a family airline. One with crying rooms, and larger bathrooms, and stroller racks, and all of those things that attract the diaper set and Thomas the Tank Engine set. That way, the airlines can return to their intended role: A place to get drunk and hook up in the bathroom. Will someone please get on this?

Frankly, I don't heart New York....

Dear Readers, here I am in New York City, and I've come to a conclusion: I don't love New York.

It's too self-concious, and too brand-namey. It's also too full of tourists (of which I am one).

To some extent, it's always been this way - that's what makes New York New York, after all. But it used to be very indifferent to tourists. Dirty and trashy and rude. That's what made it interesting. When you came to New York, you were almost assured NOT to run into someone from places like Omaha, and if you did, they knew their place (cowering in fright at the Port Authority or the Holiday Inn)

Now it's a bunch of Paris Hilton wannabes and their dumbass mothers and boyfriends. It's like a big ugly mall.

It doesn't help that I'm in a Grandma hotel with trashy French Provincial furniture. I'd much sooner be at my old favorite, the Hotel Pennsylvania. That's my kind of New York Hotel.

Oh well - at least I am just here until tomorrow. Then I Acela off to Boston.

Buzzing through town....

Dear Readers, sorry to have been so remiss recently, but my May travels have begun, and will continue next week.

In the first part, the Colonel and I went to the Old Country: Council Bluffs, Iowa to clean out my Mom's basement. It is now clean, and the Colonel has inexplicably fallen in love with Council Bluffs (?!?!?!) I'm hoping this is just a temporary thing, bought on by sticker shock at the remarkably low real estate prices there, but time will tell.

It is rather vexing that my mom's house, which is a tasteful, large-ish, mid-century modern abode situated on a nice big wooded lot, is valued at approximately 1/3 of what Chez Vel-DuRay is, even though it's a superior neighborhood and superior structure. But that's what you get when you build in Council Bluffs.

(sorry about the run-on sentence. That's what happens when you spend a week in Hooterville)

Saturday I depart Sea-Tac on a rather exclusive flight to Chicago, where I will spend the night before taking the train to New York City. A few days there, a few days in Boston, a night in DC, and then I am back on the rails to Chicago, where I will fly home again. I would love to spend some more time, but Today's World beckons, and I had used up most of my banked vacation when Dad died. I had a month's sabatical coming up, but they offered me the money instead, and who can say no to money?

So there, dear readers - you are now up to speed. I'll try to put a few entries in from "on the road", which should certainly be easier than doing it from Hooterville, as all we had there was DIAL UP. Can you IMAGINE?