Sarasota, Florida June 13, 2012

OK, I promise today will be more upbeat.

We hit Atlanta, Georgia right before dawn. My first ever stop in Georgia. Yeah? Everyone seemed cheery enough, and since I never stepped outside, I guess that is my impression of Georgia. Watched the news for a bit and they kept showing an SUV that flipped over in a high speed chase, and an 18 month old spilled out the window. He was OK, but what are people thinking? The car had righted itself, so someone jumped out to grab him, but the car drove away and left them both. Can we have an entrance exam or something before people have kids?

Short nice flight to Sarasota. Couldn't see out the window as I was on the aisle, but it was sunny and clear. My first impression of the airport was that lots of money was put into it - plantings, sculptures, art, fountains, tile, WOW. This fountain had a manatee at the top, and made it look like the lower floor was flooding.



Got a rental car - a no-key version with talking GPS. Fun toy; so far she has been right. My room wasn't ready, so I went to Whole Foods to stock up. Waiting in the hotel lobby and fell asleep; they woke me when the room was ready. Unpacked and napped again. Flying has a way of taking the wind out of my sails.

Saw Ryan briefly for dinner, then he went off to practice. He will be playing Rhapsody in Blue with the Sarasota Orchestra on Saturday night at the Opera House. He will be very busy with all of that, but I am excited to be here.

I made a short side-trip to Siesta Keys Beach, voted the #1 beach in the U.S. It was gorgeous with its white sand, clear warm water, and endless blue skies, but too many people and I am not used to seeing beaches without trees and craggy rocks like we have in Humboldt. Looked very flat and plain.










The sand was very interesting though. Very white; the texture of flour but whiter; almost blue, like calcium carbonate. The sign said it is quartz, washed into the Gulf from the Appalachian mountains. Something about it makes it repel heat - it was cool underfoot, and silky. Very nice.
























Met Ryan at his rehearsal room and watched a bit of the orchestra practice. I am often moved to tears just to hear what human collaboration can create as opposed to the destruction it can bring. They were practicing a Mozart violin concerto no. 4 with Joseph Silverstein on violin and Larry Rachleff conducting. It is going to be phenomenal.

http://www.sarasotaorchestra.org/sarasotamusicfestival/virtuosicwonder.cfm?calendar

Ryan and I went to historic old town to sample the local micro brew. One of Ryan's hobbies is to make beer, and it was fun to hear his take on their creations. We stopped in a place called Darwin's and both agreed Humboldt's beers are better. They did bring us some plantain chips with green parsley Chimichurri originating from Argentina that were worth the trip. Now on to a full-night's sleep to catch up and get ready for tomorrow. Ryan needs a jacket, I want to visit the botanical gardens, and Merry Carol arrives!

Sarasota, Florida June 12; 2012

Every time I take a new trip I try to view the travel as an integral part of the experience; maybe even a harbinger of things to come. I haven't been on a flight "for fun" in a while, often in the throes of managing equipment for a medical trip or doing head counts with some group.

So off I go. Dog at daycare - check. Cat at parents' house - check. Water off - check.

My routing today took me out of Humboldt in the evening, which was nice. I had all day to organize, fret, pack, and procrastinate. Arcata Airport is a cute place to start from, with its own unique version of TSA. Got there in plenty of time to get scanned, scrutinized, eyeballed, and queried to be sure I am not planning something newsworthy. I did manage to get in trouble though...

After I put my bags on the xray ramp and nearly disrobed to get through the metal detector, I grabbed a squirt of hand gel, trying to avoid the usual travel bugs I manage to pick up. "Oh, you don't want to do that."

The tall bald man behind the maching was scolding me. "Why not?" I couldn't imagine what I might have done to offend anyone.

"Well, if we pulled you aside and did a search of your hands and clothing, you would turn up positive." He was very stern and foreboding.

"Why?" I was scrolling through all my years of chemistry and couldn't make a connection.

"That stuff has glycerine in it, and you wouldn't want to turn up positive."

Hmmm. I think he was thinking of nitroglycerine. Somehow I didn't get the connection, like telling me a sandwich would give me a yeast infection. The other man behind the counter rolled his eyes and shrugged. "I never heard that neither." I don't know if he was supporting me or mocking his colleague.

Is this true? For all the people who are gellin' these days, there must be a lot of false positives out there...

Off to Sacramento. Nice route to take, avoiding San Francisco. The weather is better and more predictable, it is a small airport, and I could walk over to my next airline without having to go out and through security again. Free Internet, plenty of food choices, and comfortable waiting chairs. Will be my preferred mode of exit for any future flight connections.

My next flight boarded a bit late; around 10:30pm. Flight was FULL, so Delta was offering to check any carry-ons to save space on board. My back muscles have been complaining the last week, so it sounded good to me and I checked my little bag all the way. Just my back pack with toothbruch, mints, book, and computer.

We left on time, but it WAS packed. And not just with people; the configuration of seats was so packed that my knees were pretty close to the one in front of me. There were several classes boarded before my cattle section - 1st Class Premiere, Business,Economy Plus, and then Economy. I swear they keep coming up with new sections and making the "back of the bus" as miserable as they can so everyone will try to upgrade. Soon they will add Economy Minus, Standing Room, and Sardine. I hear some airlines are now charging extra to sit together; maybe they will charge extra to evacuate if there is an accident. Meals are gone, and with it went Service With A Smile, Customer Is Always Right, and Don't Throw the Crackers.

There seemed to be a lot of turbulence passing over the midwest, but maybe they are used to that because the seat belt sign never came on. Maybe it was just big chuck holes. Enough to make it impossible to sleep, but not enough to be fun.