No regrets, but...what's next?

So, my solo expeditiion actually went even better than anticipated. Save some unexpected exercise. A humorous story I hope I don't forget to share.

I actually have some anxiety ( coming to hate that word as it seems over inflated and gets far to much play time) about travelling solo. Emergency/evacuation/ drama - I don't actually have a lot of experience with these things and have little to no idea how I would handle them. But, if I think about it, I don't really think I'm that much more practiced with 2 or more people either. Perhaps it's just the comfort of 2 minds are supposedly better than one? But the "what if's" can overpopulate the mind and become stressful.

Facing this fear, I up and left. The destination I think played a part in setting my mind at ease. There's just something about the air when you are close to water - IMO - and I could feel that once I got out of the airport. From there, the public transport scene was pretty clear, easily discoverable, and easily managed. This is always a win! One of the reasons I sometimes feel a little "strip locked" in Vegas is not knowing how much or how easy it is to get off the trip ( past Fremont of course).

Then, there's the almightly to-do list. Always more fun when it's maleable and self constructed. I had a top..... 1,2,3,4,5,6... 6 things to do and was able to add 3 more by recommendation and happy circumstance.

I spent 3 nights, and really, 4 days away. I think for solo travel this may have been the perfect amount. I was beginning to hunt a little too much at the end.

I did learn to enjoy the solo travel and I think I am teachable here (which is a plus), but in the end, yeah...I love people. The initial day's boat tour was perfect as I really didn't want to engage folks on a travel day.. any more than necessary. So riding on the boat being told what I am looking at and taking pictures was more than perfect. Then a little walking and town exploring. Day 2 was a larger tour of the city and sites outside. There were 2 older women, friends from Wisconsin, who were sociable and fun to talk with. Then, being a proud UMD grad, I had on some MD outerwear and that allowed me to meet a youngish journalist and her 2 friends in from Germany. This collection of people, plus a pretty cool tour guide, made that tour even better - and I got several great recommendations of places to eat and a solicitation to visit Nuremburg :-)

Got to meet a friend that evening,( the no expectations component)and saw another town, which was surprisingly super cool. It was actually a super fun excersion and I'm so happy my friend could accomodate!!! It was short, but the place had a very interesting vibe to it. If the occassion would ever allow, seeing more of it in daylight would be nice too.

Road on the El Camino Real. ( and learned what that translated too) That just makes my nerd brain smile.

Day 3 was Alcatraz. Glad it did it, but want to do that one at night now. Based on recommendation, I went to visit the Coit Tower - but was grossly uniformed.I arrived about 2 hours before my boarding time, so I thought that was plenty of time. I checked the site on the web and plotted how to get there BUT...... I didn't think to check grade or steps. SOB!!! From the trolley car stop to the Tower, it said 15 minutes walking. Ok, cool, no problem. So, only about 1/4 mi of that was flat. The rest was an INSANE incline of about 300 ( I don't know - I was too short of breath to count) steps. Where I live, there's a thing called the incline. Yeah, I feel like I was training for it!!!! My legs were screaming and made of jello by the time I reached the tower. The vistas were very impressive. Then I went to the tower itself. Elevator OUT OF SERVICE! Yeah, that's not great news when the tower climb is 13 flights. I had to choose whether to lose the Alactraz tickets and climb or abort. I aborted, but mind you I then had to/chose to descend those stairs which I had just climbed. Sitting on the ferry to Alcatraz was a gift from God. It was windy as hell, but Alcatraz was pretty cool and worth it. Then, after killing some time on the pier I headed to dinner via a driverless car. It was pretty slick. But.... I don't often wear my seatbelt - don't judge. But the car stopped until I put it on. That was funny... and a little bossy really.

Dinner was at a pizza joint that had been hailed as 2nd best in the country next to a New York operation. Meh, worth the shot. There was a line, but running solo I was able to snag a seat at the bar with no wait. Ended up sitting next to a friendly ( not in the gross way) 45-55 year old guy from San Diego and 2 folks in town to see the MD basketball game. Then a Boston bartender came in for ice cream and to talk to his friend, the bartender at the joint I was at. We eventually all started talking and laughing - talking about B'ball MD, CO, CA, MA, accents, food - you name it. I had a flavorful cocktail and my pizza came first. It wasn't huge but too much for me, so I offered the guy a slice. He actually accepted and ate 2 pieces and then shared his pie when it came. I thought this was precious - who does that with a stranger?? His family was in a hotel nearby and he was taking food for them when he left. I gave him another piece of my pie and he gave me on of his for the road - AND shared a glass of red wine. All this to say the place and environment was so welcoming and friendly it was a highlight for me!

Day 4 was the symphony and Lombard Street. I won't recap all of that but to say, I so glad I did it, and once again,my legs are killing me.

So, what's next? I'm really wondering if I shouldn't explore options in tourism and travel for my next chapter. The whole COVID thing makes me question that a little but.... it's intriguing nonetheless. Stay tuned and we will see what the next months - years hold. It's a serious consideration though.

Battery is dying so, I'll check in later.

Get busy living or get busy dying

One of my favorite films is "Shawshank Redemption". I have liked it from first viewing, but, in the last 5+ years, I find it more philosophical. That quote by Andy, " Get busy living or get busy dying" rang hard in my ears as I made arrangements for an impromptu trip. That, and a line from one that was something in regards to "I don't rely on others" It was a little more innocuous than that, but the idea was to not rely on others to do things.

Though I totally prefer doing things with others ( traveling/ eating/etc) I guess the bigger deal is that I need to learn to enjoy things... just me. Yeah, I'll still want to talk about them with people, but the act of doing is all me.

When I was mentioning this trip, it was plan A of plans A, B and C. It's currently spring break. That alone, normally means restorative sleep. Granted, that too would have been nice but, from Jan through early March, it feels like I have been sick - warn down, to actually sick. That and, on a festival day, I'm under the weather and get slammed in the head by a cross bar of a bus door. Meh, now I have a scapegoat for congnitive lackings ;-)

So, I wanted to have an adventure. I was waiting for some sign that this was the "right" call. I don't know that "that" specifically happened, but my nayayers were less in number than supporters, and, the fiscal impact isn't insurmoutable. That was enough for me.

Let's face it, I don't know if or when I can make this trip again. I don't know if my job will exist in a year. I don't know if my health or anything else would not allow this to be possible. So. there it is. I chose to live.

Gotta head to bed. Early morning activities tomorrow.

Let's see how I feel when it's over :-)

Student Soundbites

I've been away for a while. Boy, constancy is work and I am failing at that. Here was just a quote from a student that made me chuckle, but that I totally resonated with. Note, this student has been out of school with an injury, but I still got what they were saying: " I've been alone with myself for far too long" Food for thought. Come on Spring Break!!