I write emails....

I sent this one to MO, my wonderful former coworker from Iowa, who asked about the reference to flying to Orlando in the previous post:

you would have loved Orlando, even though it wasn't much warmer than DC!!! 37F in the a.m., 48-50F in afternoon, then back to the 30s...with a 10-15 mph wind!! still....there was NO SNOW. and there were all those wonderful birds!! and there's a free bus you can take to all the various other Disney resorts around, even though you have to pay PLENTY to get into the resorts once you're there--like $84 a pop to get into Animal Kingdom. still, we did find out on the last day that there is a separate line/entrance for the RESTAURANTS only at each of those places. and the people were very friendly. best of all, there were lots of people walking around in SHORTS and tshirts even in the cold wind. and guess where THEY were from (according to their t-shirts, that is)....MINNESOTA, NORTH DAKOTA, and NEBRASKA. hahaha.

the only thing i didn't like very much about Orlando was that i seemed to be the only SINGLE person there. Penny, Ian's (oldest grandson's) mother-in-law, was at a conference from early morning until like 5 pm every day. so every time i showed up for breakfast or lunch, i was by myself, surrounded by families...a bit of a downer. still, she was kind enough to suggest that i fly down to take a break at the same time.

everyone says Las Vegas is "Disneyland for adults"...i say, "Disneyland is Las Vegas for kids"!! they are really VERY MUCH ALIKE, right down to the design! it is totally bizarre that this past autumn/winter has seen me visit (a) Las Vegas, and (b) Disneyland!! so of course i know everything about them...NOT.

i did like Las Vegas, though, believe it or not. i loved being able to walk for hours and not have to worry about traffic! and i especially loved the nighttime tour of the bright lights. and the lighted fountains...and all the other interesting stuff the tour guide was telling us. i also was very surprised at all the KIDS in the casinos. Penny was a bit scandalized when i told her about that...said it was "inappropriate" for them to be there. but i told her that they weren't there sitting sadly by while mom and dad gambled away the farm--it's just that to get from point a to point b, you have to walk through at least one casino to get there, and that's what they were doing...going from one place to another with their parents. i thought they added a nice, humanizing effect. and i didn't see any of them whining to be allowed to play the slots (against the rules, anyway--have to be legally adult).

i rented a bike one afternoon and rode all over the resort, which was very big and flat as a pancake, so i enjoyed the bike ride a lot.

i am not much of a traveler for travel's sake. some people i know, especially retirees, can't wait to get on a plane and go far away. i like it well enough once i get there, but i don't like dragging my suitcase around in airports. everyone else has those tow-along things, and i hate 'em. i'm always tripping over them in the metro here (and in Penn station in NYC, too--almost fell down on the track one time cuz this woman cut in front of me with her damned suitcase)....i said that when i can't carry my own bag, i'm gonna quit. next time i travel, i'll have to do some serious planning and packing to avoid too much weight. maybe a backpack...and i'll roll up my garments like my Swedish friend showed me. she's been all over the world with just a backpack.

anyway....the rain is washing away a LOT of the snow today! what a pleasure! big, warm drops, and the piles of snow are just disappearing!

that's more entertaining than anything Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy can drum up!!