As everyone from here to South Gate knows, I don't get out that often, and if/when I do, I don't go very far. It's been more than ten years since I even left the state of California. As my state count goes, I've been to all but 43 of the U.S. states. Diana has been to more countries than I have states. It's high time for me to go somewhere, and not just a couple of hundred miles away—preferably a destination where my mode of transportation getting there is a giant aluminum tube that travels miles above the ground at triple-digit speeds.
Not counting my falls last year, the last time I left the ground, bound for a destination, was in May 2008. Mom had a square dancing convention in Reno and wanted me to go along for company. (No, I didn't do any do-si-doeing, so get your hands off of your eyes.) We flew to Reno on Southwest, with a stop in Las Vegas to change planes. Returning home, we did that in reverse. While awaiting takeoff from McCarran International Airport on our last leg to Bob Hope Airport (Burbank Airport), I managed to look out the window and noticed a bunch of Southwest 737s parked at the airport terminal.
Out came the camera, and voila! A cool shot and kind of artsy as well. Not too bad for something composed on the spot with a cell phone. And not even a smartphone!
While my desire to visit someplace outside of California borders on intense, I do have to defend my home state in that there's a lot to see and do here, and I could probably spend the rest of my life exploring what we have. But there are places that are unique to the world and need to be seen and experienced in our lifetime, and those places had the nerve to be located beyond the boundaries of California.
As traveling goes, I can at least say that I've done some. I've been to Hawaii. I've been to the East Coast a couple of times. I've been to Texas. So at least it's a start. My doctor says that despite having diabetes, I'm taking care of myself well enough so that I should reach the age of 120 before needing the services of a mortician, grave digger, etc. Since I'm only about halfway to that age, it means that there is plenty of time to earn those air miles to be cashed in for a dream vacation. I'll get there.
