I have met mayhem, and it is called Orlando over Memorial Day weekend. That’s when all the people come out. When the heat turns up. When even ice cream is hot. When the only way to move about a theme park is to body surf atop the crowds. When the roads are lined with people from Wisconsin and Kansas who have forgotten their cars came pre-installed with gas pedals. (They just stop in the middle of four-lane highways!) I took the family to Orlando where we stayed in a resort, visited the Magic Kingdom and drank so much chlorinated pool water that our insides are bleached white. As with all my trips, I learned a lot. So I figured I would share some tips on how to make it back alive. Heed my advice:
Traveling with college kids, Part II … He survives and learns strange things
Last week I was worrying about traveling with two college students to a Society of Professional Journalists conference in Birmingham, Ala. We went to pick up several awards for the college newspaper they work on and that I advise. Certainly it was a proud moment for all of us, and we had a good time. Most importantly, I survived it all. The roof of the Southwest jet we flew didn’t pop open like a convertible, and there was no ill-advised joking in the security line that resulted in a body-cavity search of yours truly. Hooray for that.
Fear and loathing … of traveling with college kids
Things I fear — right now! — as you read this. Because I’m stepping on an airplane with two college students. We’re venturing off to Birmingham, Ala., for a Society of Professional Journalists Conference. They’re not professionals yet, but they’re the co-editors of the college newspaper I advise. They’re also up for a couple of awards — nice, important ones — and we’re going to collect them. But that means traveling together. Journeying afar. Getting on a plane, riding in a taxi, staying in a hotel, eating food, spending quality time together, etc., etc., etc.
Ode to the Glorious Road Trip
Ten days. More than 2,800 miles. Eleven states, not counting that wacky District of Columbia. Four overnight stops. Enough cheap coffee to stew a yak. Only one (no kidding) fast food stop. A plate of southern stroganoff in Asheville with pork medallions, cilantro pesto and a heapin’ pile of goat cheese grits. (Heaven in a bowl.) Streams. Feet in streams. Kid in streams. Barefoot with that icy, cold water tingling your feet. Smooth, slippery river stones. Picnics and Smoky Mountain air. Hiking. Chipmunks. Skipping stones. More cheap coffee. Metro stations. Yankee beaches. Cousin’s wedding. Dogs who eat Swedish Fish. A tall green lady in New York harbor. The world’s slowest gas pump (still finishing the job as we speak.) And a vehicle that looked like the Clampetts paid a visit to “Sanford and Son.” There’s nothing like a good, long road trip. Few better ways to experience large expanses of a great country like ours. How else can you be high atop a mountain ridge one day, watch pandas the next and then find yourself breathing in that wonderful Atlantic Ocean breeze on the pristine beaches of upper Long Island. From forests of trees in the wilds of North Carolina to forests of skyscrapers in New York City. I think you can find bears in both. Road trips are not merely a longwinded way to get from point A to point B. Rather, they’re a way to experience every single thing between point A and point B. Travel has become […]