All posts filed under: Observations from…

A series of random observations, usually made while on the road

Observations from the road: First edition

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John Kennedy once famously observed that Washington, DC, was a city with “Southern efficiency and Northern charm.” As a native Southerner, I believe that the geniuses who run the Ohio Turnpike will give those of us from the South a run for our money when it comes to inefficiency! But hold that thought…I am getting ahead of myself. On past travels chronicled on More to Come… I have taken short observations that don’t deserve full blog posts (some might say they shouldn’t be uttered in any forum) and strung them together as Observations from the Road.  I can already tell, after two days, that there will be a number of these on our cross-country trip.  So here I go with the first edition.  Read on at your own discretion…you’ve been warned. Wondering about the origin of words and phrases ain’t what it use to be – While driving through Pennsylvania yesterday, Claire asked “Where did the term ‘Bucket List’ originate?” Years ago, when you had a question where you weren’t absolutely certain of the answer, …

Bobby Jones Grave in Atlanta

Savor every precious moment

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I’m going to interrupt my string of posts about our wonderful Scandinavian adventure to insert this short grab bag of recent experiences that have made me laugh, think, or cry (or more accurately in most of these cases: chuckle, pause, or tear up).  Because, in the words of that great philosopher Jimmy Valvano: “If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.“ So let’s gets started. Since it is Masters week in Augusta, where better to begin than the grave of Bobby Jones in Atlanta’s beautiful and historic Oakland Cemetery.  I was in Atlanta last weekend for work, and we toured the cemetery…along with many other historic sites in the city. I’m sure the number of golf balls at the foot of Jones’ grave are much higher this week, as some Masters fans make the pilgrimage to Oakland every year.  But that interesting funerary art isn’t want caught my eye.  No, I soon …

A Few Observations From the Road

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Observation #1:  Native Americans didn’t locate near cell towers.  That’s a good thing.  But it means that we’ve had almost zero connectivity from Canyon de Chelly and Mesa Verde.  Expect the next full post on Saturday when we’re in Durango. Observation #2:  Is ANYONE left in Europe?  I can’t believe it because they are ALL touring the American Southwest.  Our experience has been that there are 3/4’s international visitors to 1/4 domestic visitors everywhere we go.  We went on a great tour of Canyon de Chelly with a big group from Italy.  Out of 24 people, only 8 of us were from the US.  It has been great to listen to all the languages but what it says about the exchange rate…and my upcoming trip to Slovakia…isn’t so wonderful. Observation #3:  Once you get the post from Durango, you can learn how I made it through an 18″ tunnel I  climbed yesterday afternoon at Mesa Verde with Andrew and Claire at the Balcony House ruins.  I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about that – …