I have been doing some R&R here in Sedona AZ, and one of the activities I have done was a jeep rental. My wife and I rented a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, and did two moderate to advanced forest roads, one of them called “Outlaw Trail”. Below is a picture from the trail. Awesome.
By the way, I can’t recommend highly enough Barlow’s Jeep Rental. Great people, and top notch gear. Will not set you on the wrong path.
If you listen to any politicians these days, they seem to be incapable of going more than 2 minutes without commenting on the veracity of “American Exceptionalism”. Today, I am going to debunk that claim.
I am currently vacationing in Sedona, AZ, part of the “Exceptional America” (and I will posit that the views, the food, and the relaxation options here are indeed superb).
To help with traffic flow, they have built roundabouts in many intersections. This keeps traffic flowing, and reduces emissions, as cars don’t have to stop and idle waiting for their turn to go.
However, “Exceptional Americans” seem to have a brain freeze when they come to one of these traffic flow control devices. Many STOP and wait until the roundabout is empty. BZZZZT you merely wait until you can merge in. Often there is no waiting.
Another thing I see is that there are tire marks where people have driven straight over the roundabout. BZZZT You merge in, go around to where you exit, signal, and exit.
I know, some of you will call this “communist tactics imported from Europe”, but the truth is, they are vastly superior to keeping traffic flowing, and reducing annoying waits at stop lights. For the love of god, learn to navigate Traffic Roundabouts.
I am on vacation here in Sedona, and I have noticed this twice so far. We are out walking around, and a couple will come cycling by. Invariably, the man has the uber cool, new, top of the line bicycle, and the woman will have the beat, old Trek that looks well worn.
Why so much assymetry in the relationship? My wife has a better bike than me (and she rides more to boot).
Alas, as it nears its 3rd birthday, I have to admit that my trusty sidekick, my Macbook Pro (late 2008, unibody) is beginning to feel its age. It has been through two OS upgrades (first to Snow Leopard, and lately to Lion) and a HD upgrade. Working on the third battery (I believe this was the last iteration that had a user replacable battery.
I am eyeballing either a 13″ Air, or the tried and true 15″ MBP. It will probably be a few months (say Q1 2012) but the day is coming.
Sigh.
When I do domenstic travel, I usually try to stay in Courtyard hotels. It is not because of point, or miles. It is because it is a decent room, at an acceptable price. Just be sure you are not near the elevator or the ice machine, and it is as good as a room that goes for $50 more a night.
You get a comfortable bed. There is a decent breakfast at a reasonable price in the morning (although I am as likely to go for a starbucks and a pastry), and the internet is included.
The wrinkle is:
Marriott Courtyards have the slowest, crappiest elevators. New properties. Old properties. Properties they bought and rebranded. Doesn’t matter. Shitty elevator. Slow. Rickety. Budget.
Makes you wonder…
Livign in Tucson, I thought I was used to AC set low. Some people keep their offices/homes cold enough to hang meat.
I just got to Austin for the ITEXPO conference (had to give a media interview, and will be participating in a panel discussion tomorrow), and I think I need a parka here. BRRRRRR. It is a comfy 104F outdoors (hey, I am from Arizona, that is comfortable to me), but it feels like low 60s indoors. I have been in server rooms that were warmer.
Since when was an aisle seat or a window seat “premium” and worth $15 to $40 more? I understand the psychology of airlines, and their addiction to the nickel and dime charges that travelers are willing to outlay. But, come on. Tomorrow, I am flying to Austin Texas. American TUS to DFW. 2;05. I have a center seat. eh, I can deal with it, because it is not a long flight. But, you would think that I have a center seat due to the fact that the plane is overbooked, or ful.
You would be wrong. There are aisle and window seats available. I just have to whip out my AMX card and buy the seat. Sorry, not gonna do that.
To me, a “Premium” seat is in a different class of service. Like First Class, or Business Class. It isn’t just a seat with only one other traveler next to me in it.
Airlines, I would be willing to pay $40 for a seat with an extra 6″ of legroom. I hate being cramped in a seat that should really have an OSHA limitation to be sold only to double, above the knee amputees and not have ergonomic issues.
Ah well, I guess I am tilting at windmills.
You have probably seen it, you get into your hotel room, and there are placards that describe how you can help them “save the environment” by any of a number of actions that include:
All great things, and I do all of them (in fact, I virtually NEVER watch TV in my hotel room. Just got out of the habit years ago and forget that it is even there anymore).
The one that bothers me the most is the reuse of towels. I alway hang them on the hook to signify that I will use it again. At home, I typically wash my drying towel once a week, so two or three days of use is neither “gross” nor a problem for me.
However, probably 90% of the time, the cleaning staff replaces the towel anyway. So much for environmental consciousness. It makes you wonder what else they are not doing.
(For the record, the best experience was the Shiodome Hotel in Tokyo. There is a card you put on your pillow to signify re-use of the bedding, and in return you get a “You are so AWESOME” card. I have one taped to my office door.)
I will admit to being a fan of newsprint. Something about leisurely reading of the daily rag is something that I enjoy. At home, we subscribe to the local newspaper, and read it every day. While I read the NY Times everyday online, I still subscribe to the local fish wrapper.
As a product manager, I also travel. A lot. Hotels all over the USA, and the world. Invariably, they come with a local paper. In the US, if you are lucky, you will get a complimentary copy of the Wall Street Journal (although I enjoy reading that a lot less now that it is a Murdoch paper, but that is a tale for a different day). However, you are about 99% likely to get a copy of the USA Today.
Blah.
Seriously, I suspect that if the gratis copies provided to hotel guests were eliminated, the circulation is probably about 50 copies daily. Why do I dis the USA Today? It seems to be a purposely bland paper. It tries too hard to be neutral in its editorial stance. Its selection of stories is guaranteed to be non-offensive. Even its opinion page strives to have a completely neutral balance. Add that to the WHITE newsprint that gives it a more of a magazine look and feel, and you get a waste of words.
I usually glance through it, but as with a meringue, it is fluffy, but ultimately unfulfilling.
Time for another sarcastic look at the state of travel, and the law of unintended consequences. Today, the (now) ubiquitous carry on baggage shuffle.
A few years back, airlines cottoned on to the idea that they could charge for the basic amenities. Food. Pillows. Blankets. A premium seat (how come an aisle seat is considered a $25 premium on Northwest/Delta?) None of these does as much damage as the charge for checked baggage.
To save $25.00, people will try to cram two suitcases full of clothes, toiletries, and other sundry items into a small “roller”. This is supposed to fit within a reasonable space (and all airlines have a measuring station). They schlep this on to the plane, and manhandle it into the overhead bins.
In the old days, perhaps 25% of coach carried on (I admit that this is pulled out of the air, no scientific basis, yada yada). But now, it is closer to 90%. This means that by the third seating group or zone, all the overheads are overstuffed. This leads to bitchy travelers who have to now check their baggage, bitchy flight attendants who have to tell the still boarding passengers that no, there isn’t any room left (and they still drag their bags on to “see for themselves”), and delayed departures, as 25 – 30 rollers are gate checked.
Lately, it has gotten even worse. I witnessed the early boarders (particularly those with seats near the back) snatch all the front bins. This leads to a wave of later boarders having to go beyond their row, stow their bag, then swim upstream to their seats. Repeat in reverse at debarkation.
A mess.
Please, airlines, return to a reasonable one bag free to check, and charge only for overweight or more bags. The sanity of frequent travelers is a commodity in short supply.