Maybe the biggest advantage of traveling solo is that there is no negotiation. With only two people, much of a trip is spent deciding. And it's not because they're indecisive; a small inclination toward courtesy will do it. Next non-solo trip I go on, I am going to make a rule that, each day, one designated person makes all decisions. Come to think of it, that might not be a bad approach to everyday married life either.
The sight of beautiful tiled roofs, their extravagantly landscaped exteriors, and a line of sparkling white vessels lining the canal feels simultaneously beautiful and nauseating. Maybe my envy is just showing itself in a backwards way, but despite my Stosselesque sensibilities about the rich, I couldn't help repeatedly thinking that it was an extraordinarily inefficient use of resources. What is a yacht if not a signaling device? An appreciation of fine craftsmanship?
Think about how much fuss one could be saved by switching to an intended social network of people who scorn (or at least don't positively acknowledge) status signals.
I have added to my list of "things worth paying extra for" hiking boots. Previous entries include q-tips, toilet paper, and olive oil.
I have added to my list of "things not worth paying extra for" rental cars. I had a Toyota Yaris for $26 a day and it was perfection. (With more than two people though, go bigger.)
From now on, I plan to use a digital recorder rather than a camera as my primary handheld traveling device. Recording sound captures the essence of a place much more richly and meaningfully than visual snapshots. I’d say recording sound is even better than recording video because audio collects all the unexpected events within range, whereas video's aiming quality creates a window of biased distraction. (Here is a 4:40 recording of some primate-sounding waterfowl in the Everglades.)
Pardon my eccentricity, but I cannot understand why national parks don’t do more to preserve soundscapes. They take incredible precautions to prevent visual blemishes – why not at least devote sections of the enormous park as a no fly zone and no drive zone?
It depends on circumstances, of course, but typically I think the best way to plan a trip is to research things that sound interesting, note them, and then once you're there, follow impulse. The key is not to get attached to your prior ideas.
We'll see if this holds, but right now the most memorable part of the trip for me was standing in the lawn of the Gator Park tourist zoo and watching hypnotically as a peacock and peahen stopped their grass pecking, stood with their heads a couple of inches apart, their bodies in opposite directions, adjusting and tilting their necks at regular intervals, but their eye never straying from the other's. I was sure some dino-humping was about to go down, but it never did. After awhile, they went back to pecking.
Obvious business advice: If you ever want to attract lots of people, throw a chocolate festival. Also a safe bet: Peppermint milkshakes.
I had my first encounter with Square at a taco truck. I signed electronically using their smart phone, the receipt was sent to me via text message, and it worked beautifully. I believe Jack Dorsey has struck gold again.
I know that Schelling's chessboard explains a lot about how people locate themselves, but I am always astounded by how a place can go from absurdly rich to extremely poor in a single block.
Wedding-speak has this starry-eyed quality that makes the whole ordeal seem overromantacized and hence not serious.
Weddings, on the whole, seem like an oppressively archaic tradition with an injection of modern romanticism. What I love, though, is seeing all the generations dressed in their finest clothes dancing like no one will remember this night.
When I am Patriarch Justin, I am going to order that my family hold an annual dance party at which I will not dance, but will look on with a smile.
I don't come from a family of great dancers. I’m okay with that. We’re good at other things.
I read somewhere the idea that dancing and singing and even listening to music is best kept as a private experience. I get that now.
I want to see what a sober dance party looks like again. For anyone over the age of 12, or under the age of 65, the awkwardness must be deliciously unbearable.
If all else fails, operating a motel called Winwood's Motor Lodge and spending Monday nights drinking and playing cards with buddies might not be a bad gig.
I was reminded about the enormous potential influence of a small kind gesture. If the Motor Lodge guy had just sent me to my room after I signed the receipt, I probably would have resented the place. But since he went out of his way to locate and direct me to the rental car place, I perceived the experience to be more like an awesome Big Lebowski retreat.
